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This book focuses on the medical quackery in contemporary Sri Lanka. The study is intentionally restricted to the unlicensed, nonqualified individuals who provide Western medical (allopathic) treatment. The book examines a range of social forces that create the environment for these treatment providers to thrive from the viewpoints of the treatment providers concerned and the patients who consulted them. It reveals how the persistent gaps and shortcomings in the medical establishment have created opportunities for them to function as treatment providers. Further, it examines how these treatment providers have taken advantage of the prevailing situation by being sensitive and responsive to desires, needs, feelings, and other existential circumstances of patients, in particular those who are underprivileged and vulnerable. The discussion also highlights important issues regarding the medical dominance within the Sri Lankan context. The book will serve as a useful source for academics, researchers, policy makers in the field of health, and health professionals who are keen to develop their practise.

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Dilrukshi Abeysinghe is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. She holds BA honours degree in Sociology and MPhil from University of Colombo. Currently she is a PhD student in Social Work in University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Her research interests are sociology of health and medicine, and community mental health.

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