Abstract
Medical anthropology is one of the branches of social and cultural anthropology, and it investigates the relationship between socio-cultural system and health and/or illness. The objective of this study is to clarify socio-cultural background of the clients in folk sector medicine in Japan, using qualitative research by medical anthropology method. Explanatory model which Kleinman A. defines as 'the notions about an episode of sickness and its treatment that are employed by all those engaged in the clinical process' was extracted and analyzed from each clients' illness story. The subjects are the clients of one folk sector healer who practice Oriental medicine, Buddhist medicine and Splritualism method. Semi-structured interview and free writing questionnaire were carried out. Characteristic state of diseases easy to use folk sector medicine was evaluated ; the mortal diseases such as cancer for which orthodox medicine has no effective treatments, and the chronic diseases that cannot be controlled completely by orthodox medicine, such as chronic pain and allergic diseases. Characteristic pattern of illness behavior to use folk sector mediclne was also evaluated. The first (75%) : those who use both folk and professional sector medicine. The second (25%) : those who use only folk sector medicine after finding professional sector medicine unsatisfactory. Diverse ideas that regarding life and death were identified by the clients who consult even the same healer. In the illness story, it was founded that each client subjectively selected suitable sector of medicine from the wide range of pluralistic health care systems based on their own sense of values and life stories. By this study, the importance of narrative based medicine (NBM) was indicated.
