Some Field Methods in Medical
Ethnobiology
by Elois Ann Berlin and Brent Berlin;
Field Methods 2005; 17; 235
Medical ethnobiology
• the multidisciplinary scientific study of the
• folk knowledge and
• cultural practices embodied in traditional
medical systems
• With emphasis on the natural resources
used in the maintenance and restoration
of human health.
Research in Medical ethnobiology is comprised
of three major components:
• ethnomedicine,
• medical ethnobotany, and
• ethnopharmacology
PRIOR INFORMED CONSENT TO CONDUCT THE
STUDY
• Prior informed consent must be obtained from
the communities in which the research is to be
conducted.
• Ideally, funding agencies should award at least
1 year of support for the informed consent
process.
TRAINING LOCAL RESEARCH ASSISTANTS
• A comprehensive research program has a cadre of
trained field assistants.
• Some of the most important skills that local research
assistants must acquire include:
• core field linguistic methods, especially accurate
linguistic transcription;
• interviewing skills and
• native language questionnaire production and
testing;
• botanical, ethnobotanical, and ethnoecological data
collection and recording methods, including:
• The use of global positioning system instruments,
• map reading,
• map production, and
• basic photography
• herbarium processing and curation procedures;
• basic computer literacy,
• including word processing and
• database management; and
• elementary biological laboratory techniques,
regulations, and precautions.
ETHNOMEDICAL DATA COLLECTION
• Preliminary understanding of folk concepts
of anatomy and physiology are essential.
• Have collaborators produce their own
drawings of the human body.
One of the most productive questions is
• “What are the names of all of the kinds of
health problems you know?”
• Preserving the order of elicitation of terms is
useful in establishing salience.
Named subclasses can be elicited by:
• “What are all of the kinds of ____?”
• “Are there any other kinds of ____?”
• “Is ____ a kind of ____?”
ETHNOMEDICAL EXPLANATORY MODELS OF ILLNESS
• Survey instruments must be translated and back
translated in the local language.
• Ethnomedical explanatory models of recognized health
conditions consist of:
• Ultimate cause: Why did you get sick?
• Proximate cause: a series of contributory or risk factors
Onset:
• Is the onset rapid or gradual?
• Signs: How does it look, feel, or smell to persons other
than the patient?
• Symptoms: What are the sensations and indicators that
the patient perceives?
• Normal course: What is the normal progression of the
condition if left untreated?
• Complications: Does the condition sometimes worsen
and perhaps transform into another condition?
• Prognosis: What is the expected outcome of this
condition?
• Ecology: Is it associated with conditions of the
biological environment or psychosocial environment?
• Special groups affected: Who gets it (age, gender,
ethnicity)?
• Treatment: How can it be made better or cured?
• Healing resources: Who can treat or cure it?
• Special precautions during treatment:
• special dietary restrictions
• behavioral restrictions
Clinical data
Ethno-epidemiology survey
Medical ethnobotany
• Secure local, national, and international collecting
permits
• Make arrangements with collaborating botanists
• Produce botanical voucher specimens that conform
to the highest standards,
The following ethnobotanical information is relevant:
• local name(s) of the plant,
• health condition(s) that the plant is said to treat,
• plant part(s) employed
• other plants or substances used as admixtures
• specialized collection requirements (e.g., time of day
or night, season),
• complete methods of preparation,
• complete modes of administration,
• quantities (based on native system of measurement)
of all ingredients used),
• dosage (with special consideration for age, gender,
health condition of patient),
• presumed curative principles of each constituent
• desired effect produced by each ingredient,
• duration of treatment, and
• dietary constraints, restrictions on regular activity?
• This ethnomedical data can guide pharmacological
laboratory analysis for
• analgesic activity
• antibiotic activity,
• neurological effects or
• metabolic effects.
• The discovery of novel compounds could lead to
the development of new pharmaceuticals.
• The use of herbal remedies that are safe and
efficacious can be promoted in place of expensive
patent or over-the-counter medicines.
• Pharmacologically effective medicinal plants can be
produced in
• home gardens and
• community plots