A KAP study of the attitude and practice of traditional medicine in a contemporary Nigerian community.
OBJECTIVE
To study the knowledge, attitude and practice of traditional medicine among Nigerians in a contemporary selected community.


METHODS
Structured, fixed-alternative, self-administered questionnaires constituted the research instrument, which was randomly distributed among the sampled population of 320 respondents.


METHODS
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).


CONCLUSIONS
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.
Agbaje
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Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, P.M.B. 12003, Idi- Araba, Lagos, Nigeria.
Babatunde
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D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016488:Medicine, African Traditional; D008875:Middle Aged; D009549:Nigeria; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors