scholarly journals Traditional Healers of Nepal: Their Knowledge, Skill, Practices and Technology

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-15
Author(s):  
SM Prasad ◽  
BD Patel ◽  
B Shah ◽  
S Sapkota ◽  
NN Tiwari

Background: Nepali people have been using traditional medicine since time immemorial. Majority of population (80%) depend upon traditional medicine for primary health care in rural area. However, documentation on status of traditional healers (THs) in Nepal is scanty. The purpose of this study was to analyze the status on socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, skill, practices and technology of THs in Morang, Nuwakot, Myagdi, Surkhet and Kanchanpur districts of Nepal. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the districts from February to May 2014. Total of 105 THs were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires. Data were summarized using frequency, percentages and tables. Responses on following topics were obtained: socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, skill, practices and technology. Results: In general, 73.9% of respondents were males with only 26.09% females. The greater proportion of (43.20%) THs were senior citizens above 46 years. Majorities (56.48%) of THs have been to primary school and were Hindu. Majority of THs (29.50%) were acquired the knowledge from traditional practitioners. Other sources of acquiring knowledge were family based apprenticeship, trainings and supernatural. History taking was used by 60.30% of THs for diagnosis of illness. Over forty five percent of THs had been practicing from 1-3 decades. THs (6.21%) of Morang and Surkhet consulted over 1000 clients per month. Most of THs (40.02%) used medicinal herbs as the means of healing. A total of 20% THs agreed referring complicated and unsuccessful clients to health institutions. THs used traditional tools and techniques to diagnose diseases. THs prescribed medicines prepared from medicinal herbs or in combination with minerals and animal byproducts. Conclusion: THs have acquired traditional medical knowledge, skill, practices and technology from their ancestors, colleagues, self-study, traditional teachers, training etc. THs use many traditional tools and techniques to diagnose diseases and treat clients by medicinal herbs. THs are the main source of primary health care providers for rural peoples. 

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
H. C. Okeke ◽  
P. Bassey ◽  
O. A. Oduwole ◽  
A. Adindu

Different mix of clients visit primary health care (PHC) facilities, and the quality of services is critical even in rural communities. The study objective was to determine the relationship between socio-demographic characteristics and client satisfaction with the quality of PHC services in Calabar Municipality, Cross River State, Nigeria. Specifically to describe aspects of the health facilities that affect client satisfaction; determine the health-care providers’ attitude that influences client satisfaction; and determine the socio-demographic characteristics that influence client satisfaction with PHC services. A cross-sectional survey was adopted. Ten PHCs and 500 clients utilizing services in PHC centers in Calabar Municipality were randomly selected. Clients overall satisfaction with PHC services was high (80.8%). Divorced clients were less (75.0%) satisfied than the singles and the married counterparts (81%), respectively. Clients that were more literate as well as those with higher income were less satisfied, 68.0% and 50.0%, respectively, compared to the less educated and lower-income clients, 92.0% and 85.0% respectively. These differences in satisfaction were statistically significant (P = 0.001). Hence, it was shown that client characteristics such as income and literacy level show a significant negative relationship with the clients satisfaction with the quality of PHC services in Calabar Municipality.


Author(s):  
Paulius Žvinakis ◽  
Roberta Kalibataitė ◽  
Vytenis Kalibatas

Aims Lithuania is one of the countries where public and private primary health care (PHC) providers compete for patients. Patients continuously shift from public to PHC providers, but an analysis of the main reasons was never performed. This study aimed to analyze the reasons why patients shift from public to private PHC providers and identify the associations between the reasons and demographic characteristics of the patients. Methods A cross-sectional study based on a phone questionnaire was conducted among patients who shifted from public to private primary health care (PHC) providers. A total of 810 phone calls were made, and 572 telephone surveys were completed. The response rate was 70.49%. The difference between the proportions was assessed using the Z-test. The association between categorical variables was assessed using the chi-square test. Results The study identified the following main reasons: long queues to obtain family physician appointments (23.6%), inconvenient location of public’s institution department (20.1%), patients relocating (19.2%), enrolment at a former family physician who transitioned from a public to private PHC institution (10.5%), and long waiting time at the family physician’s office for the appointment (9.4%). Some statistically significant correlations were found between the specific reasons for shifting from public to private PHC organizations and patients' demographic characteristics. Conclusions Personal reasons are the most common reasons for shifting from public to private PHC providers (43.36% of the respondents), following the reasons related exclusively to the family physician (25.17%) and related PHC institutions only (24.9%).


2007 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Mauldon

This paper reports on the attitudes of a sample of health care providers towards the use of telehealth to support rural patients and integrate rural primary health and urban hospital care. Telehealth and other information technologies hold the promise of improving the quality of care for people in rural and remote areas and for supporting rural primary health care providers. While seemingly beneficial for rural patients, study participants believed that telehealth remains underused and poorly integrated into their practice. In general, participants thought that telehealth is potentially beneficial but places constraints on their activities, and few actually used it. Published literature usually reports either on the success of telehealth pilot projects or initiatives that are well resourced and do not reflect the constraints of routine practice, or has an international focus limiting its relevance to the Australian context. Because of the paucity of systematic and generalisable research into the effects of the routine use of telehealth to support rural patients, it is unclear why health care professionals choose to provide such services or the costs and benefits they incur in doing so. Research and policy initiatives continue to be needed to identify the impact of telehealth within the context of Australian primary health care and to develop strategies to support its use.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Lim Shiang Cheng ◽  
Jens Aagaard-Hansen ◽  
Feisul Idzwan Mustapha ◽  
Ulla Bjerre-Christensen

Introduction: Studies from many parts of the world have explored factors associated with poor diabetes self-management including Diabetes Self-Management Education (DSME). Research Methodology: This study was conducted among 162 diabetes patients at primary healthcare clinics in Malaysia using semi-structured exit-interviews to explore their perceptions, attitudes and practices in relation to self-care and encounters with primary health care providers. Results and Discussion: Generally, the patients had limited knowledge, lack of motivation and encountered difficulties in diabetes self-management. The DSME was inadequate due to limited time allocated for consultations with doctors, language barriers and the lack of interpersonal and communication skills of HCPs. Conclusion: In view of the positive effects of quality DSME on the health outcomes and quality of life among diabetes patients, it is important for the primary healthcare clinics in Malaysia to strengthen the diabetes services through training in communication of all HCPs, awareness of language difference and task shifting.


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