Albinism in Malawi: knowledge and beliefs from an African setting

This article is based on a qualitative project which has set out to examine knowledge, beliefs and behaviour related to people living with albinism in Malawi. Individual, in-depth interviews were carried out with 25 people with albinism and their family members. The findings show that most people wi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Disability & society 2006-10, Vol.21 (6), p.599-611
Main Authors: Braathen, Stine Hellum, Ingstad, Benedicte
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African studies
Albinism
Beliefs
Cultural studies
Disability
Handicapped
Health behaviour
Injuries
Knowledge
Malawi
Myths
Qualitative analysis
Skin
Social perception
Social research
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This article is based on a qualitative project which has set out to examine knowledge, beliefs and behaviour related to people living with albinism in Malawi. Individual, in-depth interviews were carried out with 25 people with albinism and their family members. The findings show that most people with albinism, as well as their families, have very little knowledge about albinism, but many know and experience that the skin of people with albinism is very sensitive to the sun, and therefore take precautions to prevent injury. Stories of common myths were told, as well as stories of different relationships that are altered as a result of albinism. Stories were also told of love and approval of people with albinism. In Malawi people with albinism are considered, and consider themselves to be, disabled.
ISSN:0968-7599
1360-0508
DOI:10.1080/09687590600918081