Utilization of traditional herbal medicine among women attending antenatal clinics in mulago hospital.
Abstract
Description
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Medicine in Community Practice/Family Medicine of Makerere University.
It is a common knowledge that the majority of women attending antenatal clinics in mulago hospital use traditional herbal medicines. Globally, it is estimated that 80% of the population use traditional medicine. Apart from the high socio-ecenomic consequences, use of traditional medicines by pregnant is a public health concern taking into account trhe high maternal mortality ratio in uganda. In this study, the proportion, reasons and other behavioral characteristics which are key in prompting the use of traditional medicines among pregnant women in mulago hospital were assessed. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study that employed both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. The study population comprised of all women who attended antenatal clinics during the study period. There were 245 respondents. SAMPLING PROCEDURE: Two antenatal sites were considered and the average attendance from each got from the hospital records. The number of respondents at each site was determined by probability proportionate to the size. Proportional allocations were used to choose sample size proportional to attendance at the two sites. Results: Of the total number of respondents 91.7% had the knowledge about the use of traditional medicine while 74.0% used traditional medicines in pregnancy. CONCLUSION: Facts emerging from this study show that women attending antenatal clinics in Mulago hospital use traditional medicine in pregnancy. There is therefore a need for planning and streamlining strategies to maximize benefits and minimise dangers of use traditional medicine in pregnancy.
It is a common knowledge that the majority of women attending antenatal clinics in mulago hospital use traditional herbal medicines. Globally, it is estimated that 80% of the population use traditional medicine. Apart from the high socio-ecenomic consequences, use of traditional medicines by pregnant is a public health concern taking into account trhe high maternal mortality ratio in uganda. In this study, the proportion, reasons and other behavioral characteristics which are key in prompting the use of traditional medicines among pregnant women in mulago hospital were assessed. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study that employed both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. The study population comprised of all women who attended antenatal clinics during the study period. There were 245 respondents. SAMPLING PROCEDURE: Two antenatal sites were considered and the average attendance from each got from the hospital records. The number of respondents at each site was determined by probability proportionate to the size. Proportional allocations were used to choose sample size proportional to attendance at the two sites. Results: Of the total number of respondents 91.7% had the knowledge about the use of traditional medicine while 74.0% used traditional medicines in pregnancy. CONCLUSION: Facts emerging from this study show that women attending antenatal clinics in Mulago hospital use traditional medicine in pregnancy. There is therefore a need for planning and streamlining strategies to maximize benefits and minimise dangers of use traditional medicine in pregnancy.
Keywords
traditional herbal medicine