The Contribution of Traditional Herbal Medicine Practitioners to Kenyan Health Care Delivery : Results from Community Health-seeking Behavior Vignettes and a Traditional Herbal Medicine Practitioner Survey

Lambert, John ; Leonard, Kenneth ; Mungai, Geoffrey ; Omindi-Ogaja, Elizabeth ; Gatheru, Gladys ; Mirangi, Mirangi ; Owara, Jennifer ; Herbst, Christopher H. ; Ramana, GNV ; Lemiere, Christophe

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: AGED;    AIDS PATIENTS;    AILMENTS;    ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE;    AMOEBIASIS;   

RP-ID  :  65133

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This study examines the role thatTraditional Herbal Medicine Practitioners (THMPs) play inKenya in the context of its human resources for healthcrisis. Two surveys were carried out to obtain evidence. Thefirst documented the choices and perceptions of householdsin 36 communities on seeking medical assistance for eightcommon illnesses. The second survey asked 258 THMPs in fiveprovinces to identify their knowledge sources, training,common illnesses treated, forms of payment, challenges, andconcerns. Community-derived data show that households makereasonable decisions when faced with difficultcircumstances: they prefer hospitals when these areaffordable and seek care at clinics and health centers whenhospitals are too far away. There is significant self-careand use of pharmacies, although THMPs are preferred forworms and lower respiratory problems. In general, THMPsprovide an important though diminishing role in theprovision of health care; they are not sought out insituations when inadequate care is dangerous, specificallyinfant diarrhoea and potential TB. Whilst Human Resourcesfor Health (HRH) policies are urgently required tostrengthen the conventional health workforce and increasetheir accessibility for the poor, policies should not ignorethe findings from this study: many of the rural poorcurrently receive services from a traditional healthworkforce not linked to, or regulated by, the nationalgovernment. This paper argues that formal recognition oftheir role by the government and by the conventional medicalassociations, and a targeted strategy to strengthen andbuild on the positive qualities evident in many traditionalmedicine practices may be beneficial to safeguarding thewell-being of the poor.