Running Head: Juju Is Not the Cause of My Pain

Juju is Not the Cause of My Pain 1

Running Head: Juju is Not the Cause of My Pain

Juju is Not the Cause of My Pain: Pain Beliefs of the Igbo in the United States

Miriam O. Ezenwa, MS, RN

Doctoral Student, University of Wisconsin-Madison

School of Nursing

E-mail:

Erica O’Brien, MS, RN

Assistant Professor, Alverno College

School of Nursing

E-mail:

Molly McGee Hanson, BS

Nursing Student, Thomas Jefferson University

School of Nursing

Email:

Sandra E. Ward, PhD, RN, FAAN

Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison

School of Nursing

E-mail:

Correspondence to:

Miriam O. Ezenwa, MS, RN

University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing

600 Highland Avenue

K6/391 Clinical Science Center

Madison, WI 53792-2455

E-mail:

Phone: 608-263-6474

Abstract

The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore pain beliefs of the Igbo, a Nigerian ethnic group, in the U.S. Participants (N=10) completed the General Ethnicity Questionnaire-Igbo (GEQI, alpha = 0.88), an acculturation measure (or conversely, heritage consistency), and were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide, with questions informed by the Common Sense Model (CSM) of Illness Representations. The interview data were analyzed using content analysis. Participants ranged in age from 19 to over 65, and their mean (SD) years in the U.S. was 16.10 (8.33). Participants had high heritage consistency with a mean (SD) GEQI of 4.06 (0.40). While only one participant (10%) reported a belief that witchcraft (juju) was a cause of his/her pain, 90% believed that juju can cause pain. Sixty percent of participants used a folk remedy for pain treatment and all used over-the-counter pain medication. The findings suggest that the Igbo in the U.S. have modified their illness beliefs, which was reflected in their coping strategies, although they had remained tied to their culture of origin.

Keywords: Igbo, Witchcraft, juju, Pain Beliefs, Pain Coping.

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