Experience of age-related degenerative disease and health-seeking behaviour among elderly Blaan women in General Santos City

• Main Author: Dillena, Kennith G. C.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2015
• Subjects: Health behavior > Age factors; Older women > Medical care; Indigenous women > Medical care; Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/5057
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study seeks to qualitatively describe the degenerative disease experience and health seeking behaviour among indigenous women in General Santos City in southern Philippines. In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 elderly Blaans living in five Blaan rich barangays. A formal letter of request was sent to the office of the councilman and Blaan chieftain Mario Empal, seeking identification of elderly women to be interviewed. Analysis of data mainly involved transcription and interpretation of the interview output. Elderly Blaans shared that they began experiencing degenerative diseases at 60, saying that they would now have bodily pain when performing their usual income-generating activities. In order to alleviate their experience of disease, they usually believes in the healing properties of herbal medicines, drinking concoctions and practices jumping cross flaming fire for healing adherence to supernatural beings such as offering to gods and deities to prevent and cure disease. Many of them receive support by reaching out to other elders from adjacent community for health advice since they sometimes forgets methods and procedures to be undertaken on their experience of disease. Arthritis, heart disease, respiratory disease and hypertension were the most prevalent disease experience of the Blaan elderly women. Although some of the indigenous women interviewed had expressed preference for medical professionals whenever they were ill, most of them were firm believers and sustained users of traditional healing and rituals for treating their age-related health problems.