Sustainability Of Complementary And Alternative Medicines At Lekma Hospital.

ABSTRACT Introduction Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is known to be the oldest form of healthcare available and are found in almost every country around the world. Complementary and alternative medicine is used worldwide, both in developed and developing countries. About 80% of people in developing countries such as China, India, Latin America and large parts of Africa are known to rely on CAM as a source of primary health care. In Ghana, about 70% of the population depends on CAM practices for their primary health care needs. Complementary and alternative medicines was integrated into main healthcare delivery system in Ghana by the Ministry of Health in September 2012 and LEKMA hospital was one of such institutions. However, much has not been documented on CAM patronage and it‟s sustainability in the health system. Methods The study was a cross-sectional design that used both quantitative and qualitative data collection approach. The quantitative component used an exit interview and a structured questionnaire was administered to 57 patients attending CAM unit of LEKMA hospital. The qualitative component purposively selected 5 managers who were heads of the various units in the facility and conducted in-depth interviews using an interview guide, to assess sustainability of CAM. The study was conducted between April to June 2017 at the Ledzokuku Krowo Municipal Hospital in Teshie. The sustainability of CAM from clients‟ perspective was scored using a Likert scale which has five dimensions. The responses for each dimension and their individual items were determined for each patient. This was then used to describe the patronage of complementary and alternative medicine services. For sustainability of CAM from management perspective, Likert scale with three dimensions were used. The responses for each dimension and their individual items under them were determined for managers. This then described full sustainability or partial sustainability. Results were displayed graphically. Proportions and percentages of users of CAM were also determined. Thematic analysis was used for the qualitative interviews. Appropriate summary tables, graphs and charts was used to present results.  Results Overall, 73% of the respondents had high patronage of CAM whiles 27% had partial and the composite score for CAM sustainability was 20% full sustainability and 80% partial sustainability. The composite score on general belief showed that 82% of the respondents agreed on the belief statements in CAM. The composite score shows that 80% of the respondents agreed with all the statements under these domains indicating that location of CAM services and availability of visible directional signs influenced the patronage of CAM. The composite score for perceived effectiveness from the three questions under this domain indicated that 83.6% of the respondents agreed that the patronage of CAM was influenced by their perceived effectiveness. Fifty-one percent (51%) of the respondents were indifferent on the influence of CAM availability on its patronage