Title: Knowledge, attitude and use of medical pluralism in Wenchi Municipality: the role of place of residence and educational level in the integration of traditional and orthodox medicine in Ghana

Authors: Foster Abrampa Opoku-Mensah

Addresses: Department of Health Services Management and Administration School of Business, Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies, Wa Municipal District, Upper West Region, Ghana

Abstract: Different factors affect the use of different medicine systems to deal with the problems and uncertainties created by illness. The current study examined the role of level of educational attainment and place of residence on the knowledge, attitude and use of medical pluralism in Wenchi Municipality. A quantitative approach based on a comparative design was used to examine evidence. Multistage sampling technique was adopted to select 450 participants for a survey. An analysis of variance shows that, the effect of education is significant on the choice of medical systems but that of residential status is not. Comparing the results of the study to literature, it is recommended among others things that, a comprehensive bottom-up integration process for traditional and orthodox medicine practice be implemented.

Keywords: attitude; alternative and complementary medicine; integration; knowledge; education level; medical pluralism; orthodox medicine; residence; socio-demographic; traditional medicine.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBHR.2023.133541

International Journal of Behavioural and Healthcare Research, 2023 Vol.9 No.1, pp.18 - 28

Received: 10 May 2022
Accepted: 09 Feb 2023
Published online: 19 Sep 2023 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article