The Role Of Ethnomedicine In The Provision Of Primary Health Care: The Case Of Iguhu Location, Kakamega South District, Kakamega County, Kenya

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.