Browsing by Subject "beliefs"
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Item Open Access Comparing actual and perceived causes of fever among community members in a low malaria transmission setting in northern Tanzania.(Trop Med Int Health, 2013-11) Hertz, Julian T; Munishi, O Michael; Sharp, Joanne P; Reddy, Elizabeth A; Crump, John AOBJECTIVE: To compare actual and perceived causes of fever in northern Tanzania. METHODS: In a standardised survey, heads of households in 30 wards in Moshi, Tanzania, were asked to identify the most common cause of fever for children and for adults. Responses were compared to data from a local hospital-based fever aetiology study that used standard diagnostic techniques. RESULTS: Of 810 interviewees, the median (range) age was 48 (16, 102) years and 509 (62.8%) were women. Malaria was the most frequently identified cause of fever, cited by 353 (43.6%) and 459 (56.7%) as the most common cause of fever for children and adults, respectively. In contrast, malaria accounted for 8 (2.0%) of adult and 6 (1.3%) of paediatric febrile admissions in the fever aetiology study. Weather was the second most frequently cited cause of fever. Participants who identified a non-biomedical explanation such as weather as the most common cause of fever were more likely to prefer a traditional healer for treatment of febrile adults (OR 2.7, P < 0.001). Bacterial zoonoses were the most common cause of fever among inpatients, but no interviewees identified infections from animal contact as the most common cause of fever for adults; two (0.2%) identified these infections as the most common cause of fever for children. CONCLUSIONS: Malaria is perceived to be a much more common cause of fever than hospital studies indicate, whereas other important diseases are under-appreciated in northern Tanzania. Belief in non-biomedical explanations of fever is common locally and has important public health consequences.Item Open Access Israeli Jewish Attitudes toward Core Religious Beliefs in God, the Election of Israel, Eschatology, and the Temple Mount—Statistical Analysis(Religions, 2024-09-01) Inbari, M; Bumin, KMIn this article, we aim to gauge the perspectives of Israeli Jews on core Jewish beliefs in God, the ideas of the Election of Israel, the afterlife, the advent of the messiah, and the significance of the Temple Mount at the End of Days. We conducted a survey among a representative sample of 1204 Israeli–Jewish respondents. The survey was administered in Hebrew and fielded between 27 March and 18 April 2023. This study shows that among the Israeli public, there is a so-called secular–religious dichotomy, at least to some extent. We were able to confirm that about 50% of the sample prays often, believes that Judaism is the only true religion, and identifies as traditional or Orthodox. We also analyze a typology of secular Israelis, including traditionalist seculars, spiritual seculars, and atheist or agnostic seculars. This study further shows that there are important generational differences in Israeli society when it comes to questions of faith. The youngest Israelis comprise the most religious age cohort, while the older generations are the least religious. In the survey, we asked multiple questions on the opinions toward visiting, praying, and constructing a synagogue or a Temple on the Temple Mount.Item Open Access Understanding Our Own Biology: The Relevance of Auto-Biological Attributions for Mental Health(Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 2017-03-01) MacDuffie, KE; Strauman, TJAs knowledge of the neurobiological basis of psychopathology has advanced, public perceptions have shifted toward conceptualizing mental disorders as disorders of biology. However, little is known about how patients respond to biological information about their own disorders. We refer to such information as auto-biological—describing our own biological systems as a component of our identity. Drawing on research from attribution theory, we explore the potential for auto-biological information to shape how patients view themselves in relation to their disorders. We propose an attributional framework for presenting auto-biological information in a way that encourages agency, rather than destiny. We argue that this framework has the potential to change expectations and improve outcomes in the treatment of psychiatric disorders.