Reasons given by hypertensive patients seen at Natalspruit Hospital, Gauteng, for consulting traditional healers.

Abstract

A study on reasons why hypertensive patients seen at Natalspruit Hospital consult traditional healers whilst taking treatment from the hospital. Aim: To understand reasons given by patients receiving treatment for hypertension at Natalspruit Hospital for concurrently using traditional medicine. Design: Explorative descriptive qualitative study. Setting: Natalspruit Hospital, Gauteng – South Africa. Study population: All patients attending the researcher‟s practice suffering from hypertension and also consulted traditional healers. Results: The results of this study originated from the data collected from different interviews and their interpretations by the researcher. The respondents answered freely to the research question during a face to face conversation which was recorded with the purpose of exploring the topic in details. A certain number of information was obtained on why hypertensive patients despite their treatment from the researcher‟s practice were seeking help from the traditional healers. Number of answers derived from all respondents on the reasons why they combine the two types of medicine for their hypertension. This study focused on the ways the respondents felt about the service from the hospital/clinic, from the traditional healers and mainly on the reasons given by them when seeking help from traditional healers. Nine respondents were our group which was interviewed. The group consisted primarily of females than males, most of them were unemployed. Recommendations: Based on the results found, recommendations are that traditional medicine should be encouraged, especially in rural areas as it contributes substantially to primary health care. The government should primarily be using its resources in encouraging traditional healers to become a part of the health care delivery system through workshops involving both health professionals and traditional healers, training of modern doctors in the importance of cultural care and positive attitude towards the traditional healers. The government should consider integrating traditional medicine into the formal health system of the state. There is need to be education of patients on side-effects of anti-hypertensives at the time of dispensing, for instance ACE Inhibitors and the cough, to prevent patients seeking solutions for themselves, including taking traditional medication; education of staff in hospitals/clinics on care of patients to improve their attitudes. There is need for principles of Family Medicine to be taught and implemented in all levels of care. There is need for accessibility of modern medicine in remote areas where hospital facilities should be closer to all. A pilot referral system should be introduced and evaluated. If successful, a full-scale system should be introduced. This will ensure that the traditional healer feels both involved and committed. Traditional healers should come out into the open and be more assertive so that their work becomes transparent and this could further enhance their public image.