Dissertation Research: Pluralism in South Indian Medical Treatments

该项目支持纽约城市大学人类学专业的一名学生的学位论文研究。这名学生将通过三种不同形式的疗法来研究印度南部的精神疾病的治疗：印度教寺庙疗法、阿育吠陀医学和生物医学精神病学。通过对一组改变治疗的患者和一组只使用一种治疗的对照组患者的结构化和非结构化访谈，以及对康复过程的观察，该项目将比较尝试一种疗法治疗疾病的患者的经历与尝试多种疗法的患者的经历。假设是多种治疗方法将使患者能够制定自己的预后，从而促进他们的康复。这项研究很重要，因为它将促进我们对文化和社会因素如何塑造疾病体验的理解。最近的研究表明，发展中国家的精神分裂症恢复率好于发达国家。从这个项目中获得的知识将有助于理解疾病经历中促进康复的具体因素，这些知识应该对我们自己国家的治疗计划的设计有价值。此外，该项目将促进我们在世界这一重要领域的专业知识。

This project supports the dissertation research of an anthropology student from the City University of New York. The student will investigate the treatment of mental illness in south India by three different forms of therapy: Hindu temple healing, ayurvedic medicine, and biomedical psychiatry. Using structured as well as unstructured interviews with an experimental group of patients who change treatment and a control grou pof patients who use only one treatment, as well as observation of healing sessions, the project will compare the experience of patients who try one form of therapy to treat their illness to the experience of patients who try several forms. The hypothesis is that the multiple therapy approach will empower patients to develop their own prognosis which facilitates their recovery. This research is important because it will advance our understanding of how cultural and social factors shape the illness experience. Recent research has demonstrated that the recovery rate for schizophrenia in developing counties is better than the rate in the developed world. The knowledge to be gained from this project will help towards understanding the specific factors in the illness experience which facilitate healing, and this knowledge should be valuable in designing healing programs in our own country. In addition the project will advance our expertise about this important area of the world.