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Unconventional medical practices among Ghanaian students: A university-based survey

Research on unconventional medical practices among students has proliferated lately in the global space, hitherto, little is known explicitly in Ghana. This paper teases out insights for recent utilisation patterns of traditional medical therapies at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technolog...

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Autores principales: Gyasi, Razak Mohammed, Agyemang-Duah, Williams, Mensah, Charlotte Monica, Arthur, Francis, Torkornoo, Roselyn, Amoah, Padmore Adusei
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Elsevier 2016
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5198819/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28053899
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcme.2016.06.002
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author Gyasi, Razak Mohammed
Agyemang-Duah, Williams
Mensah, Charlotte Monica
Arthur, Francis
Torkornoo, Roselyn
Amoah, Padmore Adusei
author_facet Gyasi, Razak Mohammed
Agyemang-Duah, Williams
Mensah, Charlotte Monica
Arthur, Francis
Torkornoo, Roselyn
Amoah, Padmore Adusei
author_sort Gyasi, Razak Mohammed
collection PubMed
description Research on unconventional medical practices among students has proliferated lately in the global space, hitherto, little is known explicitly in Ghana. This paper teases out insights for recent utilisation patterns of traditional medical therapies at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana. A sample of 754, randomly selected undergraduates were involved in a retrospective cross-sectional survey. Data were analysed using multivariate logistic regression and Pearson's χ(2) test with p < 0.05 as significant. Overall prevalence of traditional therapies consumption was 89.1% in the last 12 months. Herbal-based products (67%), prayer healing (15%) and body-mind therapies (11%) were principally used and, accessed through purchases from pharmacy shops (29%) and encounter with faith healers (26%). Although students' knowledge on traditional therapies was acquired through family members (50%) and media (23%), literary materials remained significant information routes for Science related students compared to the Non-science related counterparts (p < 0.001). Pursuing Non-science-related programme [odds ratio (OR) 6.154 (95% confidence interval (CI) 3.745–10.111; p < 0.001)] and having Christian faith [OR 2.450 (95% CI 1.359–4.415; p = 0.003)] were strongly associated with students' traditional therapies use. Although students exhibited positive attitude towards unconventional therapies, there is an urgent need to validate the quality of traditional therapies through randomised clinical trials and regulatory practices to ensure quality control. Health forces should intensify efforts towards intercultural health care system in Ghana.
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spelling pubmed-51988192017-01-04 Unconventional medical practices among Ghanaian students: A university-based survey Gyasi, Razak Mohammed Agyemang-Duah, Williams Mensah, Charlotte Monica Arthur, Francis Torkornoo, Roselyn Amoah, Padmore Adusei J Tradit Complement Med Original Article Research on unconventional medical practices among students has proliferated lately in the global space, hitherto, little is known explicitly in Ghana. This paper teases out insights for recent utilisation patterns of traditional medical therapies at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana. A sample of 754, randomly selected undergraduates were involved in a retrospective cross-sectional survey. Data were analysed using multivariate logistic regression and Pearson's χ(2) test with p < 0.05 as significant. Overall prevalence of traditional therapies consumption was 89.1% in the last 12 months. Herbal-based products (67%), prayer healing (15%) and body-mind therapies (11%) were principally used and, accessed through purchases from pharmacy shops (29%) and encounter with faith healers (26%). Although students' knowledge on traditional therapies was acquired through family members (50%) and media (23%), literary materials remained significant information routes for Science related students compared to the Non-science related counterparts (p < 0.001). Pursuing Non-science-related programme [odds ratio (OR) 6.154 (95% confidence interval (CI) 3.745–10.111; p < 0.001)] and having Christian faith [OR 2.450 (95% CI 1.359–4.415; p = 0.003)] were strongly associated with students' traditional therapies use. Although students exhibited positive attitude towards unconventional therapies, there is an urgent need to validate the quality of traditional therapies through randomised clinical trials and regulatory practices to ensure quality control. Health forces should intensify efforts towards intercultural health care system in Ghana. Elsevier 2016-06-30 /pmc/articles/PMC5198819/ /pubmed/28053899 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcme.2016.06.002 Text en Copyright © 2016, Center for Food and Biomolecules, National Taiwan University. Production and hosting by Elsevier Taiwan LLC. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
spellingShingle Original Article
Gyasi, Razak Mohammed
Agyemang-Duah, Williams
Mensah, Charlotte Monica
Arthur, Francis
Torkornoo, Roselyn
Amoah, Padmore Adusei
Unconventional medical practices among Ghanaian students: A university-based survey
title Unconventional medical practices among Ghanaian students: A university-based survey
title_full Unconventional medical practices among Ghanaian students: A university-based survey
title_fullStr Unconventional medical practices among Ghanaian students: A university-based survey
title_full_unstemmed Unconventional medical practices among Ghanaian students: A university-based survey
title_short Unconventional medical practices among Ghanaian students: A university-based survey
title_sort unconventional medical practices among ghanaian students: a university-based survey
topic Original Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5198819/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28053899
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcme.2016.06.002
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