E O Agbaje1, E O Babatunde. 1. Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, P.M.B. 12003, Idi- Araba, Lagos, Nigeria.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To study the knowledge, attitude and practice of traditional medicine among Nigerians in a contemporary selected community. DESIGN: Structured, fixed-alternative, self-administered questionnaires constituted the research instrument, which was randomly distributed among the sampled population of 320 respondents. SETTING: Agege Local Government Area located in Lagos State, Nigeria and consisting of diverse tribes, different social classes, religious beliefs and levels of literacy. Subjects above the age of 12 years were selected for the study. RESULTS: Out of the 320 copies of the questionnaire distributed, 300 were returned. It was observed that 134 (44.7%) had a knowledge of traditional medicine and what it entails. A total of 101 (33.7%) believed that every ailment has spiritual implications and that drugs alone are not adequate for therapy. Furthermore, the majority of the subjects considered traditional medicine unreliable when used alone. They would, therefore, combine it with orthodox drugs for better efficacy. However, only 8.3% advocated the replacement of western medicine by traditional medicine. There was an association between age, educational background and knowledge of traditional medicine (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The secrecy of practitioners has hampered access to the therapeutic benefit of the system of medicine to the general population. However, traditional medicine is still employed since it is a part of African cultures, and because of the unavailability of western medicine. Such employment of traditional medicine has resulted in misuse and consequently, adverse drug reactions.
OBJECTIVE: To study the knowledge, attitude and practice of traditional medicine among Nigerians in a contemporary selected community. DESIGN: Structured, fixed-alternative, self-administered questionnaires constituted the research instrument, which was randomly distributed among the sampled population of 320 respondents. SETTING: Agege Local Government Area located in Lagos State, Nigeria and consisting of diverse tribes, different social classes, religious beliefs and levels of literacy. Subjects above the age of 12 years were selected for the study. RESULTS: Out of the 320 copies of the questionnaire distributed, 300 were returned. It was observed that 134 (44.7%) had a knowledge of traditional medicine and what it entails. A total of 101 (33.7%) believed that every ailment has spiritual implications and that drugs alone are not adequate for therapy. Furthermore, the majority of the subjects considered traditional medicine unreliable when used alone. They would, therefore, combine it with orthodox drugs for better efficacy. However, only 8.3% advocated the replacement of western medicine by traditional medicine. There was an association between age, educational background and knowledge of traditional medicine (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The secrecy of practitioners has hampered access to the therapeutic benefit of the system of medicine to the general population. However, traditional medicine is still employed since it is a part of African cultures, and because of the unavailability of western medicine. Such employment of traditional medicine has resulted in misuse and consequently, adverse drug reactions.
Authors: Mohammed Abdullah Al Mansour; Abdullah Mn Al-Bedah; Mohammed Othman AlRukban; Ibrahim S Elsubai; Elsadiq Yousif Mohamed; Ahmed Tawfik El Olemy; Asim Ah Khalil; Mohamed Km Khalil; Meshari Saleh Alqaed; Abdullah Almudaiheem; Waqas Sami Mahmoud; Khalid Altohami Medani; Naseem Akhtar Qureshi Journal: Adv Med Educ Pract Date: 2015-06-03