scholarly journals Perceptions and experiences of allopathic health practitioners on collaboration with traditional health practitioners in post-apartheid South Africa

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon M. Nemutandani ◽  
Stephen J. Hendricks ◽  
Mavis F. Mulaudzi
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health System ◽  
Health Systems ◽  
Quality Of Health Care ◽  
Indigenous Health ◽  
Traditional Healers ◽  
Traditional Health ◽  
Traditional Health Practitioners ◽  
Health Practitioners

Background: The indigenous health system was perceived to be a threat to the allopathic health system. It was associated with ‘witchcraft’, and actively discouraged, and repressed through prohibition laws. The introduction of the Traditional Health Practitioners Act No 22 of 2007 brought hope that those centuries of disrespect for traditional health systems would change. The study examined the perceptions and experiences of allopathic health practitioners on collaboration with traditional health practitioners in post-apartheid South Africa.Methods: Qualitative descriptive research methodology was used to collect data from allopathic health practitioners employed by Limpopo’s Department of Health. In-depth focus group discussions and meetings were conducted between January and August 2014. Perceptions and experiences of working with traditional health practitioners were explored. Ethical clearance was obtained from the University of Pretoria and approval from the Department’s Research Committee.Results: Dominant views were that the two health systems were not compatible with respect to the science involved and the source of knowledge. Overall, quality of health care will be compromised if traditional health practitioners are allowed to work in public health facilities.Conclusion: Allopathic health practitioners do not appear ready to work with traditional health practitioners, citing challenges of quality of health care, differences regarding concept of sciences and source of knowledge; and lack of policy on collaboration. Lack of exposure to traditional medicine seems to impede opportunities to accept and work with traditional healers. Exposure and training at undergraduate level regarding the traditional health system is recommended. Policy guidelines on collaborations are urgently required.

scholarly journals Perceptions of Ghanaian traditional health practitioners, primary health care workers, service users and caregivers regarding collaboration for mental health care

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Solomon Nyame ◽  
Edward Adiibokah ◽  
Yasmin Mohammed ◽  
Victor C. Doku ◽  
Caleb Othieno ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Traditional Health ◽  
Healthcare Needs ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
Traditional Health Practitioners ◽  
Health Practitioners

Abstract Background In low- and middle-income countries, the paucity of conventional health services means that many people with mental health problems rely on traditional health practitioners (THPs). This paper examines the possibility of forging partnerships at the Primary Health Care (PHC) level in two geopolitical regions of Ghana, to maximize the benefits to both health systems. Methods The study was a qualitative cross-sectional survey. Eight (8) focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted between February and April 2014. The views of THPs, PHC providers, service users (i.e. patients) and their caregivers, on the perceived benefits, barriers and facilitators of forging partnerships were examined. A thematic framework approach was employed for analysis. Results The study revealed that underlying the widespread approval of forging partnerships, there were mutual undertones of suspicion. While PHC providers were mainly concerned that THPs may incur harms to service users (e.g., through delays in care pathways and human rights abuses), service users and their caregivers highlighted the failure of conventional medical care to meet their healthcare needs. There are practical challenges to these collaborations, including the lack of options to adequately deal with human rights issues such as some patients being chained and exposed to the vagaries of the weather at THPs. There is also the issue of the frequent shortage of psychotropic medication at PHCs. Conclusion Addressing these barriers could enhance partnerships. There is also a need to educate all providers, which should include sessions clarifying the potential value of such partnerships.

scholarly journals Core competencies acquired in indigenous training of traditional health practitioners in Kwazulu-Natal

1970 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 3100-3106
Author(s):  
Mbatha Nompumelelo ◽  
Exnevia Gomo ◽  
Nceba Gqaleni ◽  
Mlungisi Ngcobo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Spiritual Development ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
Sequential Data ◽  
Traditional Health ◽  
Traditional Health Practitioners ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
Health Practitioners

Introduction: Despite the recognition of Traditional Medicine systems as a critical component of health care by the WHO and the African Union, its integration into the health care mainstream remains very subdued in South Africa. This is partly due to the lack of empirical data pertinent to traditional healer training that could inform the accreditation process. Objective: To determine core competencies acquired by Traditional Health Practitioners (THP) of KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa during their apprenticeship. Materials and methods: Purposeful, convenient and snowballing sampling and the sequential data collection methods of questionnaires, journaling and focus groups was used to collect data from the THP tutors and their trainees in rural, peri-urban and urban areas of eThekwini and uThungulu Districts of Kwa Zulu Natal (KZN). Results: Eleven core competencies were identified: consultation, diagnoses, holistic patient care and treatment, integrative and holistic healing, application of healing procedures and cultural rituals, spiritual development, ethical competencies, problem solving, herbalism, ancestral knowledge and end of life care. Conclusion: The apprenticeship of THPs in KZN is based on eleven core competencies. These competencies are fundamental pillars for critical health care provided by THPs and are crucial for setting standards for the accreditation of traditional training in South Africa if the THP Act 22 of 2007 is to achieve its purpose of providing for the management of and control over the registration, training and conduct of the practitioners. Hence, the appointed interim THP Council should include the identified competencies when articulating bases for accreditation of the training and assessments.Keywords: Indigenous training, traditional health practitioners, Kwazulu-Natal.

scholarly journals Evidence of past and current collaborations between traditional health practitioners and biomedical health practitioners: a scoping review protocol

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. e043452
Author(s):  
Ngcwalisa Amanda Jama ◽  
Anam Nyembezi ◽  
Uta Lehmann
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Open Access ◽  
Health System ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Open Access Journal ◽  
Traditional Health ◽  
Traditional Health Practitioners ◽  
Health Practitioners

IntroductionHealthcare seekers around the globe use more than one healthcare system, with most using the traditional and the Western approaches concurrently. To date, little collaboration between the two systems has taken place within the mental health space compared with other areas of medicine. In order to inform integrating plans for traditional health practitioners and biomedical health practitioners in the South African mental health system, it is important to know which models of collaboration are used in other medical settings and contexts. This study aims to document global evidence on collaboration practices between traditional health practitioners and biomedical professionals when working with various health conditions.Methods and analysisThis scoping review will be guided by an improved Arksey and O’Malley framework, the 2010 Levac et al methodological framework and the 2017 Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines. A systematic literature search will be carried out using seven different databases, EMBASE, PubMed, LILACS MEDLINE, APA PsycArticles, CINAHL Plus, Academic Search Complete and Scopus, in addition to the WHO repository, bibliographical search engines, and Open Access Theses and Dissertations. Moreover, the references of relevant publications between January 1978 and March 2020 will be scanned. Two reviewers will independently screen articles for eligibility based on the predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Thematic analysis and descriptive numerical analysis will be performed using ATLAS.ti V.8 and Excel software, respectively. The results for this review will be presented using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis: Extension for Scoping Review.Ethics and disseminationThis study will not require ethics approval because publicly available material will be used. Study findings will be published in an open-access journal and be presented to other key health system stakeholders and academic research gatherings.

scholarly journals Allopathic and traditional health practitioners’ collaboration

Curationis ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dalena Van Rooyen ◽  
Blanche Pretorius ◽  
Nomazwi M. Tembani ◽  
Wilma Ten Ham
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Traditional Healers ◽  
Professional Collaboration ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Professional Relationship ◽  
Traditional Health ◽  
Traditional Health Practitioners ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
Research Population

Background: Professional collaboration between traditional and allopathic health practitioners in South Africa is proposed in the Traditional Health Practitioners Act and could benefit and complement healthcare delivery.Objectives: To explore and describe the collaborative relationship between allopathic and traditional health practitioners regarding the legalisation of traditional healing, and these health practitioners’ views of their collaborative and professional relationship, as role-players in the healthcare delivery landscape in South Africa.Methods: A qualitative design was followed. The research population comprised 28 participants representing three groups: allopathic health practitioners (n = 10), traditionalhealers (n = 14), and traditional healers who are also allopathic health practitioners (n = 4). Purposive and snowball sampling was used. Data collection involved unstructured interviews, a focus group interview and modified participant observation.Results: Results indicate both allopathic and traditional health practitioners experienced negative attitudes towards each other. Mutual understanding (in the form of changing attitudes and communication) was considered crucial to effective collaboration between these two health systems. Participants made suggestions regarding capacity building.Conclusions: Considering realities of staff shortages and the disease burden in South Africa, facilitating collaboration between allopathic and traditional health practitioners is recommended. Recommendations could be used to develop strategies for facilitating professional collaboration between traditional and allopathic health practitioners in order to complement healthcare delivery.

Traditional Health Practitioners as Primary Health Care Workers

1997 ◽  
Vol 27 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 52-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilbur Hoff
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Field Evaluation ◽  
World Health ◽  
Traditional Health ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
Traditional Health Practitioners ◽  
Health Practitioners

The author conducted a field study in 1993 to evaluate the effectiveness of four projects that were training traditional health practitioners (THPs) to provide primary health care (PHC) services in Ghana, Mexico, and Bangladesh. The study, funded by a grant from the World Health Organization, Division of Strengthening Health Services, concluded that incorporating trained THPs in PHC programmes can be cost effective in providing essential and culturally relevant health services to communities. The main objective of the study was to evaluate how effective the training projects were and to determine what impacts they might have upon the communities served. A qualitative field evaluation was performed using data collected from project documents, observations, and field interviews with a selection of health agency staff, THPs, and community members. A summary of results is presented from the four field studies. For details refer to the full report1.

scholarly journals Current Status and Future Directions of mHealth Interventions for Health System Strengthening in India: Systematic Review (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhinav Bassi ◽  
Oommen John ◽  
Devarsetty Praveen ◽  
Pallab K Maulik ◽  
Rajmohan Panda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Health System ◽  
Health Systems ◽  
Health Care Delivery ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Health Systems Strengthening ◽  
Noncommunicable Disease ◽  
Health Initiatives

BACKGROUND With the exponential increase in mobile phone users in India, a large number of public health initiatives are leveraging information technology and mobile devices for health care delivery. Given the considerable financial and human resources being invested in these initiatives, it is important to ascertain their role in strengthening health care systems. OBJECTIVE We undertook this review to identify the published mobile health (mHealth) or telemedicine initiatives in India in terms of their current role in health systems strengthening. The review classifies these initiatives based on the disease areas, geographical distribution, and target users and assesses the quality of the available literature. METHODS A search of the literature was done to identify mHealth or telemedicine articles published between January 1997 and June 2017 from India. The electronic bibliographic databases and registries searched included MEDLINE, EMBASE, Joanna Briggs Institute Database, and Clinical Trial Registry of India. The World Health Organization health system building block framework was used to categorize the published initiatives as per their role in the health system. Quality assessment of the selected articles was done using the Cochrane risk of bias assessment and National Institutes of Health, US tools. RESULTS The combined search strategies yielded 2150 citations out of which 318 articles were included (primary research articles=125; reviews and system architectural, case studies, and opinion articles=193). A sharp increase was seen after 2012, driven primarily by noncommunicable disease–focused articles. Majority of the primary studies had their sites in the south Indian states, with no published articles from Jammu and Kashmir and north-eastern parts of India. Service delivery was the primary focus of 57.6% (72/125) of the selected articles. A majority of these articles had their focus on 1 (36.0%, 45/125) or 2 (45.6%, 57/125) domains of health system, most frequently service delivery and health workforce. Initiatives commonly used client education as a tool for improving the health system. More than 91.2% (114/125) of the studies, which lacked a sample size justification, had used convenience sampling. Methodological rigor of the selected trials (n=11) was assessed to be poor as majority of the studies had a high risk for bias in at least 2 categories. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, mHealth initiatives are being increasingly tested to improve health care delivery in India. Our review highlights the poor quality of the current evidence base and an urgent need for focused research aimed at generating high-quality evidence on the efficacy, user acceptability, and cost-effectiveness of mHealth interventions aimed toward health systems strengthening. A pragmatic approach would be to include an implementation research component into the existing and proposed digital health initiatives to support the generation of evidence for health systems strengthening on strategically important outcomes.

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