J Community Health Nurs. 1998 ; 15(3): 143-54.

A comparison of traditional folk healing concepts with contemporary healing concepts.

Wing DM.

School of Nursing, University of Tulsa, OK 74101, USA.

Health professional interest in folk healing concepts as a means of complementing contemporary health care has flourished within recent years. Yet, despite this seemingly new area of study, many basic tenets of folk healing are consistent with principles ascribed to by modern health professionals. In this article, I elucidate several concepts shared by traditional folk healing systems and the contemporary health care system. These concepts include origin of illness, harmony and balance, motion, colors, symbols, and family and community involvement. The analysis of these concepts should enable nurses to have an advanced understanding of transcultural healing practices, as well as a heightened perspective on the shared dimensions of folk and contemporary health care systems.