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Traditional remedies and other characteristics among human snakebite survivors in Baringo county, Kenya, 2010–2020: a case series
BACKGROUND: Seeking traditional remedies following snakebites leads to avoidable deaths in rural settings in developing countries. METHODS: In this case series study, we identified and recruited 169 snakebite survivors in Baringo county, a hard-to-reach region in northwestern Kenya, who experienced...
Autores principales: | , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Oxford University Press
2022
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10153557/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35724263 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihac043 |
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author | Kung'u, Peris N Chweya, Reagan N Gachohi, John M |
author_facet | Kung'u, Peris N Chweya, Reagan N Gachohi, John M |
author_sort | Kung'u, Peris N |
collection | PubMed |
description | BACKGROUND: Seeking traditional remedies following snakebites leads to avoidable deaths in rural settings in developing countries. METHODS: In this case series study, we identified and recruited 169 snakebite survivors in Baringo county, a hard-to-reach region in northwestern Kenya, who experienced snakebites from 2010 to 2020 using a snowballing technique. We explored associations between traditional and hospital care in managing snakebites and other characteristics. χ(2) tests assessed these categorical differences. RESULTS: Fifty-four (33%) of the survivors used traditional remedies to manage snakebites. The majority (56%) were men and aged >18 y (72%); 59% had low education levels and income. They sourced water from rivers or lakes (93%) and used charcoal as an energy source (74%). These survivors (>67%) resided in households practicing free-range and stall-feeding animal husbandry systems and in houses with thatch roofing or an earthen floor structure. Also, >62% reported muscle tremors, fever and chills, while 80% visited health facilities for further treatment. CONCLUSION: Community sensitization covering the risks of non-effective remedies and escalation of training to traditional healers could improve the speed of referrals in hard-to-reach snakebite hotspots. Medical anthropology studies could explore the enablers of continued use of traditional remedies in snakebite management in rural communities. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-10153557 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2022 |
publisher | Oxford University Press |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-101535572023-05-03 Traditional remedies and other characteristics among human snakebite survivors in Baringo county, Kenya, 2010–2020: a case series Kung'u, Peris N Chweya, Reagan N Gachohi, John M Int Health Original Article BACKGROUND: Seeking traditional remedies following snakebites leads to avoidable deaths in rural settings in developing countries. METHODS: In this case series study, we identified and recruited 169 snakebite survivors in Baringo county, a hard-to-reach region in northwestern Kenya, who experienced snakebites from 2010 to 2020 using a snowballing technique. We explored associations between traditional and hospital care in managing snakebites and other characteristics. χ(2) tests assessed these categorical differences. RESULTS: Fifty-four (33%) of the survivors used traditional remedies to manage snakebites. The majority (56%) were men and aged >18 y (72%); 59% had low education levels and income. They sourced water from rivers or lakes (93%) and used charcoal as an energy source (74%). These survivors (>67%) resided in households practicing free-range and stall-feeding animal husbandry systems and in houses with thatch roofing or an earthen floor structure. Also, >62% reported muscle tremors, fever and chills, while 80% visited health facilities for further treatment. CONCLUSION: Community sensitization covering the risks of non-effective remedies and escalation of training to traditional healers could improve the speed of referrals in hard-to-reach snakebite hotspots. Medical anthropology studies could explore the enablers of continued use of traditional remedies in snakebite management in rural communities. Oxford University Press 2022-06-20 /pmc/articles/PMC10153557/ /pubmed/35724263 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihac043 Text en © The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com |
spellingShingle | Original Article Kung'u, Peris N Chweya, Reagan N Gachohi, John M Traditional remedies and other characteristics among human snakebite survivors in Baringo county, Kenya, 2010–2020: a case series |
title | Traditional remedies and other characteristics among human snakebite survivors in Baringo county, Kenya, 2010–2020: a case series |
title_full | Traditional remedies and other characteristics among human snakebite survivors in Baringo county, Kenya, 2010–2020: a case series |
title_fullStr | Traditional remedies and other characteristics among human snakebite survivors in Baringo county, Kenya, 2010–2020: a case series |
title_full_unstemmed | Traditional remedies and other characteristics among human snakebite survivors in Baringo county, Kenya, 2010–2020: a case series |
title_short | Traditional remedies and other characteristics among human snakebite survivors in Baringo county, Kenya, 2010–2020: a case series |
title_sort | traditional remedies and other characteristics among human snakebite survivors in baringo county, kenya, 2010–2020: a case series |
topic | Original Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10153557/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35724263 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihac043 |
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