Abstract:
The thesis presents a sociological analysis of the position and role of quacks or
medically unqualified people, who appear to play a significant part in the curative
healthcare system in Sri Lanka. The study was carried out in the Ratnapura District in
the Sabaragamuwa Province. Ten quacks who practice western medicine in the district
and 350 patients who had sought treatment from them were selected for the study.
The focus of the study is on whether the dominance of the western medical
system creates the space for quacks to enter and continue as providers of western
medical treatment within the healthcare delivery system in Sri Lanka. This issue was
discussed paying attention to four points of view i.e., those of quacks, patients who
consult quacks, formal curative healthcare services and the state.
The following aspects, which were highlighted in the study as the
manifestations of western medical dominance, can be considered as the factors that
encouraged the quacks to enter the field of curative healthcare and continue their
medical practice:
1. Marginalisation of indigenous healthcare services and the ascendancy of
western healthcare services in the context of curative healthcare provision.
2. The restrictions and controls that reduced people's freedom to resort to
alternative medical systems.
3. Manifestations of professional dominance in the context of the doctor-patient
relationship.
Besides the dominance of the western medical system, the study reveals
several other social forces that have helped quacks in infiltrating the curative
healthcare system and continue their practice. Firstly, quacks maintain personal
relationships with health officers in the formal health sector as well as with politicians.
Secondly, quacks have a 'western doctor" image among patients who consult them
