Malay psychiatric patients and traditional healers (bomohs)

This paper describes the characteristics of Malay psychiatric inpatients, their attitudes towards hospitalisation and their practice of consulting traditional healers (bomohs). The behaviour patterns which prompted hospitalisation were: acute disorganised behaviour directed at the community, behaviour of a less acute nature distressing the family and life-threatening crises. The social interaction life styles of urban and rural Malays are discussed in relation to the differences observed between urban and rural hospitalised patients. When the traditional healers were consulted there was a delay before hospitalisation, but there was an awareness of the need for hospitalisation shown by a small number of the traditional healers. Some patients who had consulted the traditional healers had the tendency to continue the consultations after leaving the hospital, but this practice became less frequent after each discharge from hospital.