Health seeking behaviours of Tibetan refugee community in Dharamsala, India

Abstract

This study examined the health seeking behaviours of the Tibetan refugee community in Dharamsala, India. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected on 46 members of the community randomly chosen from five stratified groups. Subjects were divided into two age groups: 15 - 35 and 36 - 60. The Tibetans in Dharamsala have the benefit of three health-care models. They are Tibetan tradition systems, Tibetan traditional medicine (TTM) and Spiritual healers (SH) and one Western allopathic medicine (WA) adopted in exile. The three systems are well integrated into the community and cross refer to each other, based on their expertise. All systems are accessed depending on the differing needs of the community. The Tibetans of Dharamsala generally found TTM to be the best health system, because of the caring nature of the care-giver and safeness of the medication. Their initial-utilization patterns depended on the nature of their medical problem. For curative procedures, TTM and WA were chosen while SH was chosen for preventative measure. It was apparent that the younger Tibetans in Dharamsala were more comfortable and familiar with WA concepts. As well, compared to the older Tibetans, younger Tibetans were more aware of the possibilities of side-effects and transmittable diseases related to WA treatment. The initial-decision making process of the Tibetans of Dharmasala for their health related problems were made on the basis of their previous experience of treatments. Another notable aspect of the decision-making process, was the decision to seek consultation of Spiritual Healer to determine their health care choices. In general all the three main health-care models were effectively utilized. WA was most frequently accessed for 'acute/trauma cases', TTM for 'chronic disorder/diseases' and SH for 'psychological or spiritual related disorders/obstacles. This study is an initial examination of Tibetan health care seeking behaviour in Dharamasala and remains an interesting subject for further research.