South Africa is today a country in transition, freed from apartheid with its far-reaching implications, engaged in rebuilding itself and seeking to create harmony between the old world and its customs, rituals, traditional values, and the new emerging Western, modern, and progressive world. This reality contains a staggering paradox between a new and free society and an impoverished reality marred by illness and other social problems. This article focuses on the perception of illness, and healthcare behavior as affected by the socio-cultural background in the context of social change which the country is undergoing. Terms like witchcraft, ancestors role, and traditional healers that play an important role in African traditional culture in relation to health perception and behavior will be introduced, and issues related to medical care for the ill in the struggling society, especially the worrisome extent of the HIV/AIDS pandemic will be discussed.
BaekC.MathamboV.MkhizeS.FriedmanI.ApicellaL. & RutenbergN. (2007). Key findings from an evaluation of the mothers2mothers program in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Horizons program—Health systems trust final report. Retrieved July 25, 2011 from http://www.popcouncil.org/projects/184_EvalM2M.asp#/.
6.
BoessenkoolJ. & van RinsumH. J. (2006). Eurocentric versus Afrocentric approaches: Management thinking beyond dichotomies. In van den HeuvelH.MangalisoM. & BuntL.V. (Eds.), SAVUSA Series (pp. 183–198). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Rozenberg Publisher.
BozalekV.G. (2004). Recognition, resources, responsibilities: Using students' stories of family to renew the South African social work curriculum. Tekst: Proefschrift University Utrecht.
9.
CameronE. (2005). A witness to AIDS. Cape Town, South Africa: David Philip.
10.
CarrilloJ. E.GreenA. R. & BetancourtJ.R. (1999). Cross-cultural primary care: A patient-based approach. Annals of International Medicine, 130, 829–834.
11.
DeaconH.UysL. & MohlahlaneR. (2009). HIV and stigma in South Africa In RohlederP.SwartzL.KalichmanS.C. & SimbayiChisamu L. (Eds.), HIV/AIDS in South Africa 25 years on: Psychosocial perspectives (Chapter 8, pp. 105–120). New York, NY: Springer.
12.
GevisserM. (2007). Mbeki and Mandela Parting of the Ways. Sunday Times (p. 17). South Africa.
13.
IKamva Labantu: A South African nonprofit organization (n.d.). Retrieved, April 20, 2011 from internet site http://www.ikamva.com/.
KalichmanS. C. (2009). Denying AIDS. Conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, and human tragedy. New York, NY: Springer.
16.
KlienmanA. (1992). In Wynne, L. C., Shields, C. G., & Sirkis, M. I. Illness, family theory and family therapy. Family Process, 31(1), 3–18.
17.
KlienmanA.EisenbergL. & GoodB. (1978). Culture illness and care. Annals of International Medicine, 88(2), 251–258.
18.
LewisS. (2005). Race against time: Searching for hope in AIDS-ravaged Africa. Melbourne, Australia: Text Publishing.
19.
MandelaN. (1994). Long walk to freedom. London, UK: Abacus.
20.
MaslowA. H. (1968). Toward a psychology of being. Princeton, NJ: D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc.
21.
McDanielS. H. & CampbellT. L. (2004). International health issues. Families, Systems, & Health, 22(3), 275–276.
22.
Mothers2mothers. (n.d.). Helping mothers saving babies. Retrieved April 20, 2011 from internet site. http://www.m2m.org/.
23.
NattrassN. (2007). Mortal combat: AIDS denialism and the struggle for antiretrovirals in South Africa. Pietermaritzburg: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press.
24.
NattrassN. & KalichmanS. C. (2009). The politics and psychology of AIDS denialism. In RohlederP.SwartzL.KalichmanS.C. & SimbayiChisamu L. (Eds.), HIV/AIDS in South Africa 25 years on: Psychosocial perspectives (Chapter 9, pp. 123–134). New York, NY: Springer.
25.
RamoseM. B. (1999). African Philosophy through Ubuntu. Harare: Mond Books.
26.
RichterL.SteinA.CluverL. & de KadtJ. (2009). Infants and young children affected by HIV/AIDS. In RohlederP.SwartzL.KalichmanS.C. & SimbayiChisamu L. (Eds.), HIV/AIDS in South Africa 25 years on: Psychosocial perspectives (Chapter 6, pp. 69–87). New York, NY: Springer.
27.
RohlederP.SwartzL.KalichmanS. C. & SimbayiChisamu L. (2009). HIV/AIDS in South Africa 25 years on: Psychosocial perspectives. New York, NY: Springer.
28.
RollandJ. S. (1994). Families, illness & disability. New York, NY: Basic Books.
SeaburnD. B.LorenzA. & KaplanD. (1992). The transgenerational development of chronic illness meanings. Family System & Medicine, 10(4), 385–394.
31.
ShisanaO.ZunguN. & PeziS. (2009). Poverty and HIV and AIDS. In RohlederP.SwartzL.KalichmanS.C. & SimbayiChisamu L. (Eds.), HIV/AIDS in South Africa 25 years on: Psychosocial perspectives (Chapter 7, pp. 89–104). New York, NY: Springer.
32.
ShwartzmanO. (2007). White doctor, black gods. Tel Aviv, Israel: Aryeh Nir Publishers. (In Hebrew).
33.
ThabedeD. (2005). Social casework: An Afrocentric perspective. Dissertation University of Stellenbosch, South Africa.
34.
WileyA. S. (2009). Medical anthropology: A Biocultural Approach. Proceedings of the Human Biology Association 33rd Annual Meeting, April 10, 2008, Columbus, OH. American Journal of Human Biology, 21(2), 276–282.
35.
WrightL. M.WatsonW. L. & BellJ. M. (1996). Beliefs: The heart of healing in families and illness. New York, NY: Basic Books.
