Analysis of the Factors Influencing Consultation with Traditional Health Practitioners: A Case of Bapedi Communities in Limpopo Province South Africa

Sejabaledi A Rankoana

doi:10.47814/ijssrr.v5i8.541

Sejabaledi A Rankoana Department of Sociology & Anthropology. University of Limpopo, Sovenga, South Africa

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47814/ijssrr.v5i8.541

Keywords: Traditional Medicine; Primary Health Care; Culture; Patients; Sustainable Health Care

Abstract

Traditional medicine continues to play a critical role in promoting and sustaining health in developing nations, especially in the rural areas where traditional healers are the exclusive providers of primary health care in their communities. The primary objective of scientists is to ascertain the rationale for the ongoing use of traditional medicine in an era when biomedical procedures are widely available, accessible, and inexpensive to the majority of people. The current research examines the elements that contribute to continuous consultation with traditional healers in four rural communities in South Africa's Limpopo Province. The data collection method was semi-structured interviews with a convenience sample of 53 patients recruited from the households of traditional health practitioners. The study findings present four factors influencing consultation with traditional health practitioners namely accessibility and affordability, affordability and holistic care to offer spiritual and emotional care.

References

Abdullahi, A.A. (2011). Trends and challenges of traditional medicine in Africa. African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 8,115–123. Available at: (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3252714/, accessed 20 June 2021.
Astin, J.A. (1998). Why patients use alternative medicine: results of a national study. Jama, 279(19),1548-53. doi: 10.1001/jama.279.19.1548.
Aziz, M., Adnan, M., Khan, A.H., Abdela, A. & Mansour, S. et al. (2018). Traditional uses of medicinal plants practiced by the indigenous communities at Mohmand Agency, FATA, Pakistan. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 14(2),1-18. DOI 10.1186/s13002-017-0204-5.
Bakeera, S.K., Wamala, S.P. & Galea, S. (2009). Community perceptions and factors influencing utilization of health services in Uganda. International Journal of Equity Health, 8, 25.
Cunningham, A.B., Shanley, P. & Laird, S. (2008). Health, habitats and medicinal plant use. In: Colfer, C.J. (ed). Human health and forests: A global overview of issues, practice and policy. People and Plants International Conservation Series. London: Earthscan, 35–62.
De Wet, H., Ramulondi, M. & Ngcobo, Z.N. (2016). The use of indigenous medicine for the treatment of hypertension by a rural community in northern Maputaland, South Africa. South African Journal of Botany,103, 78-88.
Felhaber, T. & Mayeng, I. (1997). (Eds.) South African Traditional Healers’ Primary Health Care Handbook. Cape Town: Kagiso Publishers.
Gyasi, R.M., Mensah, M.C., Adjei, P.O. & Agyemang S. (2011). Public Perceptions of the Role of Traditional Medicine in the Health Care Delivery System in Ghana. Global Journal of Health Science, 3(2), 40-49.
Helman, C.G. (2007). Culture, Health and Illness (5th ed.). London: Hodder Arnold.
James, P.B., Wardle, J. & Steel, A. et al. (2018). Traditional, complementary and alternative medicine use in SubSaharan Africa: a systematic review. BMJ Glob Health, 3, e000895. doi:10.1136/ bmjgh-2018-000895.
Ladele, A.A. & Bisi-Amosun, O.O. (2014). Level of Utilization of Traditional and Orthodox Medicines by Rural Dwellers in IleOgbo Community of Osun State, Nigeria. Journal of Agricultural Extension, 18(1), 155-168.
Limpopo Development Plan [LDP] 2015-2019. Available at: http://www.limpopo.gov.za/webDocs/Limpopo. LDP.Summary.Final.31 March.2015.docx. Accessed 30 March 2022.
Maroyi, A. & Cheikhyoussef, A.A. (2015). Comprehensive study of medicinal plants used in rural areas of Namibia and Zimbabwe. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, 14, 401–406.
Mathibela, M.K., Egan, B.A., Du Plessis, H.J. & Potgieter, M.J. (2015). Socio-cultural profile of Bapedi traditional healers as indigenous knowledge custodians and conservation partners in the Blouberg area, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 11: 49 DOI 10.1186/s13002-015-0025-3.
Moshabela, M.M. (2008). Reasons given by caregivers for administering African herbal medicines to children at St Rita’s hospital in Sekhukhune District of Limpopo Province, South Africa [M Med thesis]. University of Limpopo.
Osamor, P.E. & Owumi, B.E. (2010). Complementary and alternative medicine in the management of hypertension in an urban Nigerian community. BMC Compl Alternative Med, 10:36.
Statistics South Africa. (2018). General household survey. Available at: www.statssa.gov.za Accessed 24 March 2022.
Thivhafuni, L.G. (2011). Availability, accessibility and affordability of optometric services to the rural communities of the Mutale Municipality, Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Unpublished MPH Dissertation. Sovenga: University of Limpopo.
Truter, I. (2007). African traditional healers: Cultural and religious beliefs intertwined in a holistic way. South African Pharmaceutical Journal, 74(8),56-60.
World Health Organization. (2018). The role of traditional and complementary medicine in primary health care. Technical Series on Primary Health Care. Available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo.
Zuma, T., Wight, D., Rochat, T. & Moshabela, M. (2016). The role of traditional health practitioners in Rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: generic or mode specific? BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 16(304), 1-13. DOI 10.1186/s12906-016-1293-8.