Traditional healers or bonesetters ("rebouteux") in France: A survey of their practice, profile, and customers.

BACKGROUND

In France, many people consult "bonesetters" for several medical reasons. Little is known about them. We aimed to investigate the practices of traditional healers in France as well as their profile and that of their customers.

METHODS

This was a survey carried out in Metropolitan France. A 33-item questionnaire developed by a multidisciplinary group was sent to a sample of 148 traditional healers found on the Internet and by word of mouth.

RESULTS

Of the 148 questionnaires sent, 89 (60.1 %) were returned and 67 (45.3 %) were analyzed: 51.5 % (n = 34) of respondents were men, and the mean (±standard deviation) age was 51.6 ± 11.6 years. The respondents considered that they had received a gift of healing and were mainly magnetic healers (68.2 %). They became aware of this gift at a mean age of 19.9 ± 14.1 years. The traditional healers practiced mainly in rural areas (54.5 %), at home (59.1 %), and used their hands to transmit energy (95.5 %). They advertised their practice mainly by word of mouth (89.4 %) and had a predominantly female clientele (78.1 %). Various diseases were treated, with the most frequent being subjective complaints (pain, stress, fatigue, insomnia) and dermatological complaints (eczema, accidental and post-herpes-zoster burns, psoriasis, and warts). Most respondents considered their activities to be complementary to conventional medicine, and 10.9 % considered them more effective. Some indicated that they did not consider themselves "healers" but rather "providers of relief".

DISCUSSION: The results of this survey provide a better understanding of this network of local care that revolves around medicine.