Some Field Methods in Medical

Ethnobiology

by Elois Ann Berlin and Brent Berlin;

Field Methods 2005; 17; 235

Medical ethnobiology

• the multidisciplinary scientific study of the

• folk knowledge and

• cultural practices embodied in traditional

medical systems

• With emphasis on the natural resources

used in the maintenance and restoration

of human health.

Research in Medical ethnobiology is comprised

of three major components:

• ethnomedicine,

• medical ethnobotany, and

• ethnopharmacology

PRIOR INFORMED CONSENT TO CONDUCT THE STUDY

• Prior informed consent must be obtained from the communities in which the research is to be conducted.

• Ideally, funding agencies should award at least 1 year of sup port for the informed consent process.

TRAINING LOCAL RESEARCH ASSISTANTS

• A comprehensive research program has a cadre of

trained field assistants.

• Some of the most important skills that local research

assistants must acquire include:

• core field linguistic methods, especially accurate

linguistic transcription;

• interviewing skills and

• native lan guage questionnaire production and

testing;

• botanical, ethnobotanical, and ethnoecological data

collection and recording methods, including:

• The use of global positioning system instruments,

• map reading,

• map production, and

• basic photography

• herbarium processing and curation procedures;

• basic computer literacy,

• including word processing and

• database manage ment; and

• elementary biological laboratory techniques,

regulations, and precautions.

ETHNOMEDICAL DATA COLLECTION

• Preliminary understanding of folk concepts

of anatomy and physiol ogy are essential.

• Have collaborators produce their own

drawings of the human body.

One of the most productive ques tions is

• “What are the names of all of the kinds of

health problems you know?”

• Preserving the order of elicitation of terms is

useful in establishing salience.

Named subclasses can be elicited by:

• “What are all of the kinds of ____?”

• “Are there any other kinds of ____?”

• “Is ____ a kind of ____?”

ETHNOMEDICAL EXPLANATORY MODELS OF ILLNESS

• Survey instruments must be trans lated and back

translated in the local language.

• Ethnomedical explanatory models of recognized health

conditions consist of:

• Ultimate cause: Why did you get sick?

• Proximate cause: a series of contributory or risk factors

Onset:

• Is the onset rapid or gradual?

• Signs: How does it look, feel, or smell to persons other than the patient?

• Symptoms: What are the sensations and indicators that the patient perceives?

• Normal course: What is the normal progression of the condi tion if left untreated?

• Complications: Does the condition sometimes worsen and perhaps transform into another condition?

• Prognosis: What is the expected outcome of this condition?

• Ecology: Is it associated with conditions of the biological envi ronment or psychosocial environment?

• Special groups affected: Who gets it (age, gender, ethnicity)?

• Treatment: How can it be made better or cured?

• Healing resources: Who can treat or cure it?

• Special precautions during treatment: • special dietary restrictions • behav ioral restrictions

Clinical data

Ethno-epidemiology survey

Medical ethnobotany

• Secure local, national, and international collecting

permits

• Make arrangements with collab orating botanists

• Produce botanical voucher specimens that conform

to the highest standards,

The following ethnobotanical information is relevant:

• local name(s) of the plant,

• health condition(s) that the plant is said to treat,

• plant part(s) employed

• other plants or substances used as admixtures

• specialized collection requirements (e.g., time of day or night, season),

• complete methods of preparation,

• complete modes of administration,

• quantities (based on native system of measurement) of all ingredients used),

• dosage (with special consideration for age, gender, health condition of patient),

• presumed curative principles of each constituent

• desired effect produced by each ingredient,

• duration of treatment, and

• dietary constraints, restrictions on regular activity?

• This ethnomedical data can guide pharmacological

laboratory analysis for

• analgesic activity

• antibiotic activity,

• neurological effects or

• metabolic effects.

• The discovery of novel com pounds could lead to

the development of new pharmaceuticals.

• The use of herbal remedies that are safe and

efficacious can be promoted in place of expensive

patent or over-the-counter medicines.

• Phar macologically effective medicinal plants can be

produced in

• home gardens and

• community plots