The discourses of Western and African medicine in South Africa

Abstract

Child mortality remains prevalent primarily in developing countries (Madewell et al., 2022), where guardians often seek medical help to save their children from life-threatening illnesses. This study investigates the medical discourses surrounding child deaths in South Africa, focusing on how these discourses shape, reproduce, resist, and contest broader narratives related to biomedical and Indigenous health practices. The research aimed to explore how both biomedical and Indigenous health practitioners construct the causes of child mortality and their understanding of treatments for childhood illnesses. The study utilized a qualitative research design, drawing on semi-structured interviews with six medical practitioners. The data were analyzed using Foucauldian and Critical Discourse Analysis elements to deepen the insights. Parker’s (1992) discourse analysis framework was employed, with steps 1 to 12 guiding the text analysis and steps 13 to 20 focusing on the discourse analysis. Key findings reveal that all practitioners engage in similar practices, highlighting a shared concern across different medical approaches. However, there are also notable differences in how these practices are carried out. The findings underscore how constructions of responsibility for children and discourses on childhood are reinforced through careful analysis of these practices.