Date of Award
6-1-2021
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Health Education
First Advisor
McDermott, Robert
Abstract
Breast cancer has become a more common disease in Saudi Arabia, but the approaches that are used for treating the illness are not always based on modern medical practice. There appears to be a cultural resistance to modern medical treatment in many of the regions of Saudi Arabia, which also has an effect on early diagnosis, choices for treatment, and eventual outcomes. As a result of resistance there is a high level of adoption of faith healing techniques for treating breast cancer. This study focuses on a region of Saudi Arabia called Aljouf City. In addition to the cultural issues, travel issues put a lot of pressure on women to determine the practicality of using modern medicine. As a result, women tend to look towards faith healing as a method of treating breast cancer, either as a supplement or is it substitution. The focus of this study is on the reasons that women choose faith healing as a method for treating breast cancer and the perspectives that are adopted based on where they get their information and how that information is incorporated into their beliefs and practices. Through a qualitative approach, the phenomenon of using faith healing was examined through the use of interviews and focus groups with the intention of looking for answers to research questions related to Faith healing, with the result of developing an instrumental case study.
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