Sociology of Trust: Navigating Traditional Medicine and Government Healthcare in Tribal Communities

Author Anjana Singh
DOI https://ww

Country : India
Subject : Sociology

Keywords : Tribal health, Scheduled Tribes (ST), medical pluralism, traditional medicine, AYUSH, healthcare access, trust, health-seeking behaviour, rural health infrastructure

Abstract

The Scheduled Tribes (ST), also known as tribal populations, still face serious health inequalities despite the visible improvement of several indicators. As an illustration, the National Family Health Survey 5 (2019-21) suggests that, relative to NFHS-3, institutional deliveries, and child immunisation rates among ST groups have significantly improved. However, the problem that is disproportionately high among these communities is malnutrition, anaemia, and maternal mortality (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 2021). To some degree, these inequities are structural in nature: the healthcare infrastructure in the districts where tribal populations are concentrated is still inadequate, the number of functioning sub-centres is low, and the number of medical workers is also lower than the national average (MoHFW, Rural Health Statistics, 2021).

This paper explores the sociological foundation of trust in health seeking behaviour among tribal communities with particular focus on distribution of trust in traditional healers and indigenous medical systems (folkloric and AYUSH CAM) as opposed to formal biomedical services offered by the state. The empirical evidence that was obtained with the help of the National Sample Survey Office 75th round of social consumption of health and the MOSPI survey of AYUSH demonstrate that in tribal regions consumers turn to local healers and AYUSH modalities more often, which is explained by the considerations of accessibility and is also preconditioned by the cultural meanings (MOSPI, 2020). According to the Report of the Expert Committee on Tribal Health (2018), it is common among tribal populations that the government health facilities are viewed as distant, culturally alien, and unreliable, whereas traditional practitioners continue to be trusted by the population in their daily life because of the essential part they play in tribal life.

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