Abstract:
The aim of the study was to illuminate beliefs in relation to health and illness expressed by
older Africans within the context of a society in transition, namely South Africa. An ethnographic
research approach influenced by the interpretive phenomenological tradition was selected to
gain an understanding of the participants’ experiences. A focused ethnographic design was
employed, using group and individual in-depth interviews and participant observations. Sixteen
elderly persons (ten females and six males) from Hammanskraal, a rural area north of Pretoria,
were involved in the research. The findings illuminate a world understanding where body and
mind are inseparable and relationships provide the foundation for improving and maintaining
health and being cured from illness. The ongoing transition that the elderly in South Africa
experience influences health and illness beliefs, with a need to adapt to existing parallel health
care systems, Western biomedicine and African traditional medicine. As the study draws
attention to the importance of caring for the elderly to be contextualised, it is recommended
that the care of the elderly be applied to the unique needs of the individual involved. Failure to
do so may otherwise have severe consequences such as an apparent high risk of developing
stereotypes, which can lead to cultural misunderstandings, prejudice and discrimination.
