The determinants of traditional medicine use in Northern Tanzania: a mixed-methods study.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Traditional medicines are an important part of healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa, and building successful disease treatment programs that are sensitive to traditional medicine practices will require an understanding of their current use and roles, including from a biomedical perspective. Therefore, we conducted a mixed-method study in Northern Tanzania in order to characterize the extent of and reasons for the use of traditional medicines among the general population so that we can better inform public health efforts in the region.

Methods

Between December 2013 and June 2014 in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, we conducted 5 focus group discussions and 27 in-depth interviews of key informants. The data from these sessions were analyzed using an inductive framework method w

SUBMITTER: Stanifer JW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4388565 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature