Spatial analysis of the use of traditional medicine in urban areas of Ghana: a case study of Kumasi Metropolis

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2011
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Abstract
This study aims at analysing the use of traditional medicine in urban areas of Ghana with Kumasi Metropolis as the case study area. The study focuses on finding the mode of use of traditional medicine in urban areas and why people choose a particular medicine at the expense of the other. The researcher finds the effect of urbanization on the use of traditional medicine as well as the percentage of urban dwellers that access traditional medicine. The role gender plays in the use of traditional medicine is also factored in the equation. The discussion also focuses on the type of diseases that traditional medicine effectively addresses. To understand the effectiveness of traditional medicine, comparison has to be made with modern medicine. To achieve the objectives of the research, both quantitative and qualitative methods of data analysis are used. Multiple regression model as a tool is used to test for the validity of views expressed by respondents. Interviews and questionnaires were used to collect data from the field to support maps and other data collected from related institutions. Views were sampled from 20 selected suburbs in the Kumasi metropolis using a sample size of 320. Analysis of data indicates that education plays a very important role in the utilization of traditional medicine. There is a significant negative correlation between education and use of traditional medicine in both the core and the periphery. Other variables such as place of residence, gender and income levels did not show a significant correlation with the use of traditional medicine. Though the study reveals that more females use traditional medicine than males, the difference is not significant. The other 2 variables (residence and salary) follow a similar trend as in gender. It is recommended that traditional medicine should be incorporated into the Primary Health Care (PHC) system because of its efficiency and affordability. For this integration to be effective, government must seek to regulate the activities of practitioners of traditional medicine. This can be achieved when government’s health policies make provision for the setting up of educational institutions to train people in the field of traditional medicine. Moreover, if practitioners of traditional medicine come together in small groups to share knowledge and expertise, they can do better than they are doing now. Admittedly, this study addresses only a fraction of the problem associated with traditional medicine and the researcher accepts that other areas of further research must be considered. Areas such as “Ethnicity and use of traditional medicine” and “The problem of distribution and application of traditional medicine” are strongly recommended to anyone aspiring to research into traditional medicine.
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A thesis submitted to the Board of Postgraduate Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the Degree of Master of Philosophy in Geography and Rural Development, 2011
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