‘A disease like any other’ traditional, complementary and alternative medicine use and perspectives in the context of COVID-19 among the Congolese community in Belgium

Background As a hard-hit area during the COVID-19 pandemic, Belgium knew the highest mortality among people from sub-Saharan African descent, compared to any other group living in the country. After migration, people often maintain traditional perceptions and habits regarding health and healthcare,...

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Authors: De Meyer, Emiel, Van Damme, Patrick, Peña de Torres, Eduardo de la, Ceuterick, Melissa
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2022
Country:España
Institution:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repository:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/269537
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/269537
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Urban ethnobotany
Congolese community
Belgium
COVID-19
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spelling ‘A disease like any other’ traditional, complementary and alternative medicine use and perspectives in the context of COVID-19 among the Congolese community in BelgiumDe Meyer, EmielVan Damme, PatrickPeña de Torres, Eduardo de laCeuterick, MelissaUrban ethnobotanyCongolese communityBelgiumCOVID-19Background As a hard-hit area during the COVID-19 pandemic, Belgium knew the highest mortality among people from sub-Saharan African descent, compared to any other group living in the country. After migration, people often maintain traditional perceptions and habits regarding health and healthcare, resulting in a high prevalence of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine use among different migrant communities in northern urban settings. Despite being the largest community of sub-Saharan African descent in Belgium, little is known on ethnobotanical practices of the Belgian Congolese community. We therefore conducted an exploratory study on the use of medicinal plants in the context of COVID-19 and perceptions on this new disease among members of the Congolese community in Belgium. Methods We conducted 16 in-depth semi-structured interviews with people of Congolese descent currently living in Belgium. Participants were selected using purposive sampling. Medicinal plant use in the context of COVID-19 was recorded through free-listing. Data on narratives, ideas and perceptions on the origin, cause/aetiology and overall measures against COVID-19 (including vaccination) were collected. Interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Results Four overarching themes emerged from our data. Firstly, participants perceived the representation of the severity of COVID-19 by the Belgian media and government—and by extend by all governmental agencies in the global north—as exaggerated. As a result, traditional and complementary treatments were seen as feasible options to treat symptoms of the disease. Fifteen forms of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine were documented, of which thirteen were plants. Participants seem to fold back on their Congolese identity and traditional knowledge in seeking coping strategies to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, institutional postcolonial distrust did not only seem to lead to distrust in official messages on the COVID-19 pandemic but also to feelings of vaccination hesitancy. Conclusion In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, participants in our study retreated to, reshaped and adapted traditional and culture-bound knowledge. This study suggests that the fragile and sensitive relationship between sub-Saharan African migrant groups and other social/ethnic groups in Belgium might play a role in their sensitivity to health-threatening situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.Peer reviewedBioMed CentralConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [https://ror.org/02gfc7t72]202220222022info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501Publisher's versioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://hdl.handle.net/10261/269537reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSICinstname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)Ingléshttps://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-022-00530-ySíinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:digital.csic.es:10261/2695372026-05-22T06:33:51Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv ‘A disease like any other’ traditional, complementary and alternative medicine use and perspectives in the context of COVID-19 among the Congolese community in Belgium
title ‘A disease like any other’ traditional, complementary and alternative medicine use and perspectives in the context of COVID-19 among the Congolese community in Belgium
spellingShingle ‘A disease like any other’ traditional, complementary and alternative medicine use and perspectives in the context of COVID-19 among the Congolese community in Belgium
De Meyer, Emiel
Urban ethnobotany
Congolese community
Belgium
COVID-19
title_short ‘A disease like any other’ traditional, complementary and alternative medicine use and perspectives in the context of COVID-19 among the Congolese community in Belgium
title_full ‘A disease like any other’ traditional, complementary and alternative medicine use and perspectives in the context of COVID-19 among the Congolese community in Belgium
title_fullStr ‘A disease like any other’ traditional, complementary and alternative medicine use and perspectives in the context of COVID-19 among the Congolese community in Belgium
title_full_unstemmed ‘A disease like any other’ traditional, complementary and alternative medicine use and perspectives in the context of COVID-19 among the Congolese community in Belgium
title_sort ‘A disease like any other’ traditional, complementary and alternative medicine use and perspectives in the context of COVID-19 among the Congolese community in Belgium
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv De Meyer, Emiel
Van Damme, Patrick
Peña de Torres, Eduardo de la
Ceuterick, Melissa
author De Meyer, Emiel
author_facet De Meyer, Emiel
Van Damme, Patrick
Peña de Torres, Eduardo de la
Ceuterick, Melissa
author_role author
author2 Van Damme, Patrick
Peña de Torres, Eduardo de la
Ceuterick, Melissa
author2_role author
author
author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [https://ror.org/02gfc7t72]
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Urban ethnobotany
Congolese community
Belgium
COVID-19
topic Urban ethnobotany
Congolese community
Belgium
COVID-19
description Background As a hard-hit area during the COVID-19 pandemic, Belgium knew the highest mortality among people from sub-Saharan African descent, compared to any other group living in the country. After migration, people often maintain traditional perceptions and habits regarding health and healthcare, resulting in a high prevalence of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine use among different migrant communities in northern urban settings. Despite being the largest community of sub-Saharan African descent in Belgium, little is known on ethnobotanical practices of the Belgian Congolese community. We therefore conducted an exploratory study on the use of medicinal plants in the context of COVID-19 and perceptions on this new disease among members of the Congolese community in Belgium. Methods We conducted 16 in-depth semi-structured interviews with people of Congolese descent currently living in Belgium. Participants were selected using purposive sampling. Medicinal plant use in the context of COVID-19 was recorded through free-listing. Data on narratives, ideas and perceptions on the origin, cause/aetiology and overall measures against COVID-19 (including vaccination) were collected. Interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Results Four overarching themes emerged from our data. Firstly, participants perceived the representation of the severity of COVID-19 by the Belgian media and government—and by extend by all governmental agencies in the global north—as exaggerated. As a result, traditional and complementary treatments were seen as feasible options to treat symptoms of the disease. Fifteen forms of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine were documented, of which thirteen were plants. Participants seem to fold back on their Congolese identity and traditional knowledge in seeking coping strategies to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, institutional postcolonial distrust did not only seem to lead to distrust in official messages on the COVID-19 pandemic but also to feelings of vaccination hesitancy. Conclusion In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, participants in our study retreated to, reshaped and adapted traditional and culture-bound knowledge. This study suggests that the fragile and sensitive relationship between sub-Saharan African migrant groups and other social/ethnic groups in Belgium might play a role in their sensitivity to health-threatening situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
publishDate 2022
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2022
2022
2022
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
Publisher's version
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10261/269537
url http://hdl.handle.net/10261/269537
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-022-00530-y
Sí
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv BioMed Central
publisher.none.fl_str_mv BioMed Central
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
instname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
instname_str Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
reponame_str DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
collection DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
repository.name.fl_str_mv
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