Haitian ethnomedical systems and biomedical practitioners: directions for clinicians

Since the 1980s, there has been a dramatic increase in immigration to the United States from Haiti. New and recent immigrants from Haiti are likely to have little prior experience with biomedical care and are also likely to have suffered from the physical and mental effects of poverty, malnutrition, and violence. Access to care for this vulnerable population may be hampered by a lack of available services as well as a general lack of understanding of Haitian spiritual and ethnophysiologic beliefs by biomedical practitioners. The purpose of this article is to present an overview of Haitian spiritual and ethnophysiologic beliefs within their historic context, provide an introduction to Haitian ethnomedicine, and offer suggestions for clinicians and researchers who work with this population.