Collaboration between orthodox and traditional medical practices - a study in the Sekyere West District of the Ashanti Region

For the best harmony, you need both the black and white keys of the piano. Traditional Medical Practice (TMP) was in existence well before the ‘white man’ came to the shores Ghana. These traditional medical practitioners (TPs) included bonesetters, herbalist, traditional birth attendants (TBAs’), soothsayers etc, and they were accorded a lot of respect (Kunfaa 1996). Before the advent of orthodox medical practice (OMP), it was the traditional medicine, which was the main source of health care of the people. The African must be proud of its people and everything that was good in the past. The history of medicine is primarily the history of man’s endeavour to conquer disease, and the methods used have been mainly determined in all human societies by the prevailing conceptions of uses. In the African society, health is viewed as a balance between physical, mental and spiritual well-being. The WHO definition is about the same and is described as a state of complete physical, social, and mental well-being and not merely the absence of disease are infirmity. The PHC concept, initiated in 1978, is defined as essential health care made universally accessible to individuals and their communities through their full participation and at a cost the community and country can afford to maintain, in the spirit f self-reliance and self-determination Tradition medical practice (TMP) and Orthodox medical practice (OMP) are both patronized by the people of Ghana for ages. They have existed as independent systems of health care delivery. Despite the passage of ACT 575, which gives official recognition to the TMP, there is no official policy as to how these two practices could collaborate due to the perceived stumbling blocks such as suspicion about each other, causes of diseases and treatment modes etc., and that has been the reason why there is the d to find ways and means by which these two practices will combine their efforts to enhance the health status of Ghanaians. That was the reason why the study was ducted. The fo1lowing research questions were used as a guide during the research: 1. Who are the traditional practitioners in the Sekyere West District? 2. What are the views of the practitioners about each other? 3. What are the perceived obstacles to collaboration from the point of view of the TMP and OMP? 4. What are the possible mechanisms for achieving the expected collaboration? n objective was set to assess the relationship between the OMP and TMP with the view identify potential areas and mechanisms for collaboration The specific objectives of the study included,  Identification and categorization of the different traditional medical practitioners in Sekyere West District.  The description of views of OMP and TMP about each other and the relationship between.  The description of obstacles to collaboration and identify potential areas for collaboration and also mechanisms for this.  The recommendation on possible mechanisms for collaboration. The study was done in the Sekyere West District (SWD). The study design was descriptive and cross-sectional in time, while observation was also made. The data collection tools were structured interview guide (SIG) for the traditional medical practitioners (TPs’) and self-administered questionnaire (SAQ) for the orthodox medical practitioners (OPs’). The systematic sampling method was used in the selection of the respondents while purposive sampling was used in the selection of the sub-districts results of the study revealed that there were quite a number of obstacles to collaboration. It was obvious that there was general lack of mutual trust between the practitioners. Despite this deep mistrust, practitioners seem to be eager to learn from each her under the right atmosphere in order to facilitate collaboration. It is recommended that avenues for dialogue between the OMP and TMP be created. It is so expected that the practitioners will exhibit mutual respect for each other, the council r TMP be operative within the shortest possible time. Non-formal education sessions to be organized for the TPs’, while the curriculum of health training institutions should include a comprehensive study of medical sociology and comparative medical systems. It also envisaged that another look would be taken at the law on OMP with regards to referrals. Further studies into the following areas in future will be useful: 1. Intellectual property rights in the health service. 2. Religious beliefs and utilization of aspects of the health services.

Source: KNUST