ABSTRACT
Primary health care is essential health care based on practical,scientifically sound and
socially acceptable methods and technology made universally accessible to
individuals and families in the community through their full participation and at a cost
that the community and the country can afford to maintain at every stage of their
development in the spirit of self-determination. Ethnomedicine is widely recognized
.as an important element of primary health care. However, there seems to be little
understanding of its actual role, with most studies focusing on the therapeutic value
and the efficacy of herbs and other pharmacopoeia, rather than the social, cultural and
psychological aspects of the same. Thus, ethnomedicine has still not been given its
proper place in health care provision especially at the policy-making level. This study
set out to investigate the role of ethnomedicine in the provision of primary health
care. Specifically, the study sought to investigate the factors that determine the
utilization of ethnomedicine; to find out the preventive and treatment procedures used
by ethno medical practitioners; and to investigate the role of pharmacological and
non-pharmacological therapies of ethnomedicine in the prevention and cure of
common illnesses and injuries. This study was conducted in Iguhu location,
Kakarnega South District, in the Kakamega County of Kenya. The study relied mainly
on survey research techniques but supplemented this by observation and secondary
data. The sampling unit was the household from which one member was purposively
selected. Ethnomedical practitioners were selected purposively through the snowball
technique. After data collection, a codebook was developed, and then the data was
analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. This study established that
the overall influence of the level of educational attainment on the utilization of
ethnomedicine is skewed, with respondents at both extremes of the level of education
reporting a high rate of utilization, as opposed to those who have attained only
secondary school education. The study also established that religious affiliation, the
level of income and occupational activities did not have a significant influence on the
patterns of utilization of ethnomedicine. However, the study revealed that age, sex
. and marital status had a significant influence on the utilization of ethnomedicine. The
study also found that illnesses and injuries perceived to have been caused by
. biophysical factors may be prevented and cured by both biomedical and ethnomedical
practitioners. However, illnesses and injuries perceived to have been caused by
superhuman factors may be prevented by ethnomedical practitioners only employing
both pharmacological and non pharmacological therapies. The study detected a very
high rate of reported success rates of ethnomedicine. The study concluded that
utilization of ethnomedicine remains strongly prevalent in the study area. The study
also showed that most respondents mix biomedical and ethnomedical remedial
therapies in their health seeking practice. Therefore, ethnomedicine is an integral part
of the primary health care system in the study area and other similar rural settings.
The study concludes that both ethnomedical and biomedical practitioners show a willingness to cooperate and expressed a desire to learn more from each other.
ISINDU, S (2021). The Role Of Ethnomedicine In The Provision Of Primary Health Care: The Case Of Iguhu Location, Kakamega South District, Kakamega County, Kenya. Afribary. Retrieved from https://afribary.com/works/the-role-of-ethnomedicine-in-the-provision-of-primary-health-care-the-case-of-iguhu-location-kakamega-south-district-kakamega-county-kenya
ISINDU, SHIVACiH "The Role Of Ethnomedicine In The Provision Of Primary Health Care: The Case Of Iguhu Location, Kakamega South District, Kakamega County, Kenya" Afribary. Afribary, 27 May. 2021, https://afribary.com/works/the-role-of-ethnomedicine-in-the-provision-of-primary-health-care-the-case-of-iguhu-location-kakamega-south-district-kakamega-county-kenya. Accessed 03 Oct. 2024.
ISINDU, SHIVACiH . "The Role Of Ethnomedicine In The Provision Of Primary Health Care: The Case Of Iguhu Location, Kakamega South District, Kakamega County, Kenya". Afribary, Afribary, 27 May. 2021. Web. 03 Oct. 2024. < https://afribary.com/works/the-role-of-ethnomedicine-in-the-provision-of-primary-health-care-the-case-of-iguhu-location-kakamega-south-district-kakamega-county-kenya >.
ISINDU, SHIVACiH . "The Role Of Ethnomedicine In The Provision Of Primary Health Care: The Case Of Iguhu Location, Kakamega South District, Kakamega County, Kenya" Afribary (2021). Accessed October 03, 2024. https://afribary.com/works/the-role-of-ethnomedicine-in-the-provision-of-primary-health-care-the-case-of-iguhu-location-kakamega-south-district-kakamega-county-kenya