Knowledge, attitude and use of alternative medical therapy amongst urban residents of Osun state, southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Alternate medicine which has a long history has been relegated to the background by the evolution of modern medicine. In recent times, however, alternative medical therapy has been growing in popularity and getting increasing attention and interest. This study assessed the knowledge, attitude and use by urban dwellers of alternative medical therapies. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study which used a semi-structured questionnaire to gather information from 812 randomly selected urban respondents. Majority 734 (90.4%) of the respondents were aware of an alternative way of getting treatment for their ailments apart from the orthodox medicine. The forms of alternative medical therapy (AMT) respondents were aware of include: concoction (herbal preparations) 683 (94.2%); herbalists/traditionalists 616 (85.0%); traditional bone setters therapy 434 (59.9%); among others. The main source of information was through radio 439 (70.9%). About half 403 (54.9%) of the respondents were aware of side effects from AMT and these include diarrhea, abdominal pain and vomiting which accounts for 69.7%; 42.2% and 40.2% respectively. About 347 (47.3%) think AMT could be injurious to health. About a third 262 (35.7%) of the respondents who were aware of AMT prefers it to orthodox medicine. Reasons given for the preference were that: AMT is cheap 56 (21.4%); accessible 43 (16.4%) and acceptable 35 (13.4%) to them. About half 367 (50.0%) also believed AMT alone could cure their illness without resort to orthodox medical therapy (OMT). Over half 401 (54.6%) of the 734 respondents that were aware of AMT had patronized or taken one form of alternative medical therapy or the other in the last 12 months prior to the study. Of these number, 323 (80.5%) had taken concoction (herbal preparations). However, there was no relationship between respondents' age, sex, educational level or religion and the patronage of AMT as all test of associations were not statistically significant p>0.05. This study has revealed that the use of alternative medical therapies is quite popular among the studied population and a high proportion of the respondents use AMT notwithstanding that they live in the urban communities where they have better access to orthodox medical care and medical practitioners. Regulations should be made concerning the advertisement of alternative medicine and practices as orthodox medicine and practices are usually not advertised.

Women’s perception of safety and utilization of herbal remedies during pregnancy in a local government area in Nigeria

“…The agbo (concoction) which was the mostly used herbal remedies by pregnant women in this study was consistent with the findings of Fakeye, Adisa & Ismail [27] and Bamidele, Adebimpe & Oladele [5] in their studies conducted in Nigeria. They conclude that more than two-third of respondents had used herbal medicines in crude forms or as pharmaceutical prepackaged dosage forms, with a high percentage preferring self-prepared formulated concoction (agbo).…”

“…Also the high usage of herbs among rural women in this study contradicted the findings of Louik, Gardiner & Kelley, et al [32] who reported low usage (5.8%) among their respondents but at par with the findings of Bamidele, Adebimpe & Oladele [5] who reported similar findings among urban respondents in Nigeria. The preference for herbal remedies by pregnant women in this study over orthodox medicine could be linked with the submission of Elujoba, Odeleye and Ogunyemi [10] that alternative medicine is intrinsically interwoven with the culture of the people -a socioeconomic and sociocultural heritage.…”

“…This will promote safe motherhood and reduce maternal and infant mortality resulting from misuse of herbs. Even though studies conducted across the six geo-political zones revealed strong perception of herbal remedy and high consumption rate among the Nigerian populace [5,10] , few research evidences exist on its use during pregnancy.…”

“…However, alternative medical therapy has been growing in popularity and getting increasing attention and interest [4,5] . Moreover, the use of herbal remedy as a form of alternate medical care among pregnant women has become a major concern in Nigerian communities due to its perceived safety among users and controversial assumption of toxicity, teratogenic potentials and associated feto-maternal complications among healthcare practitioners [5].…”

A review of the role of African traditional medicine in the management of oral diseases

“…Teshome-Bahiru (2006) reported that the process of urbanisation has greatly impacted on the use of traditional medicine in both rural and urban communities of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in both positive and negative ways. The introduction of Western culture particularly into rural parts of Africa has had a tremendous negative impact on the role traditional medicine plays and as Western education, Christianity and increased contact with the global community become an integral part of rural communities, taboos, traditions and customs have been affected and in some instances abandoned altogether These challenges notwithstanding, there is increasing evidence that traditional medicine continues to hold sway in both rural and urban communities of Africa even when modern health care facilities are available to meet wide range of health care needs (Sheriffs,1996;De Jong,1991;Bamidele, 2009, Eduards, 1986. De Jong (1991) has reported that even educated people in urban cities still consult TH whose demand for services are high, as they are perceived to be skilled to help people cope with psychological and social problems associated with illness and disease.…”