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Table 1 Analyses codes and their definitions

From: From their own perspectives: a qualitative study exploring the perceptions of traditional health practitioners in northern Uganda regarding cancers, their causes and treatments

Codes

Code definitions

Definition of cancer

Any references to what cancer is, or is not

Help-seeking for self and family

Any references to where the healer and family members go for help-seeking whenever illness is perceived

Medical pluralism

References to whether sick people should seek help from several sources including biomedicine and traditional health practices concurrently or sequentially, and whether such practices are considered good or harmful to the patients

Causes of cancer

Any references to what leads to development of cancer or how cancers are perceived to come about in a person

Symptoms of cancers

Any references to what are perceived as indicators or signs that a person with cancer develops

Diagnosis of illness

References to how a healer or a person may detect a particular kind of illness including cancers, and give names or labels to the illness

Treatments for cancers

Any references to concepts about the types of treatments or remedies that are considered to work on cancers, including why it is thought so

Forms of healing

References to the different approaches and or things that THPs do to help patients regain health, and the types of healing practices in traditional medicine practice, including giving medicines, surgery, incantations, and administration of rituals

Rituals used in treatment

All references about things that healers or elders do other than giving physical medicines, to help a person who is ill to get better or regain health

Illnesses treated

References to the types of diseases or illnesses that a healer says he/she treats and how he/she decides which illnesses to treat or specialize in treating

Becoming a traditional health practitioner

Any references to how one becomes or became a THP, including the processes of initiation and or source of inspiration to become a healer

Power of healing

References to the ways in which one gets inspirations, desire to heal, and actually be able to help a sick person regain health

Types of THPs

References to the different categories of healers based on types of services provided or how they treat illnesses and or how they became healers

Duration of practice as THP

References to the period since when a THP gained healing power and started providing help to people to regain health

Detection of potent medicines

References to how a THP gets to know which plants/materials work as medicines for particular ailments

Awareness of good THPs

References about how members of the community get to know who a good THP is and therefore decide to seek help with him/her

Occupation

Any references to what the THP used to do before becoming a healer or does concurrently with healing practices, including any formal qualifications

Traditional surgical practices

Any references to practices that require cutting on a person perceived as ill, with the intention to relieve distress, pain or cause healing, including the title given to the person who does the cutting procedure

Safety in surgery

Any references to the conduct of traditional surgical practices in a way that prevents dirt and infections from getting into the patient, including how to clean and sterilize the equipment used in the surgery

Cancer early detection

Any references to whether there are stages that cancers develop through, what needs to be done in order to know that there is cancer when it is still in early stage, how early detection can be done, and the benefits for early detection

Sources of ill health or diseases

Any references to what leads people to fall sick or how illnesses get into people and therefore make them become sick

Challenges treating cancers

References to difficulties experienced in treating patients with cancers and reasons for such difficulties

Cancer prevention

Any references to what should be done to reduce the chance of a person getting a cancer/cancers, and whether it is difficult or easy to prevent cancers

Collaborations between HCP and THP

All concepts related to whether or not THPs and biomedical practitioners should work hand in hand with each other including referring patients to each other’s practices, and reasons for such referrals

Meaningful collaborations

References to the conditions that need to be put in place, or things to be done so that THPs and biomedical practitioners can work together in harmony with mutual benefits in the prevention and management of cancers

Hindrances to progress in THP practices

Perceptions and references to what makes the field of traditional health practice not develop, grow, flourish or be practiced in the open, including the difficulties that THPs experience

Self-protection during THP practice

References to precautions undertaken by THPs to avoid getting infections from their patients

  1. THP Traditional Health Practitioners, HCP Healthcare Practitioners