Attitude toward different systems of medicine: A survey of four villages in the Punjab—India

Abstract

This study reports the type of medical practitioners and the system of medicine preferred by one hundred and four rural heads-of-households in four selected villages in Ropar District of Punjab (India). There are three main systems of medicine prevalent in the rural areas of Punjab; allopathy (modern or angrezi), ayurveda (indigenous Indian) and unani (Ionian). The latter two are popularly called desi medicine. The practitioners of allopathy, ayurveda and unani are respectively called doctors, vaidyas and hakims. The four villages were selected such that one had a “broad range” of medical and health facilities, the second one had only a vaidya, the third one only a hakim and finally, the fourth had no physician at all. The results of the survey indicated, contrary to the views of many social scientists, that angrezi medicine and allopathic physicians were generally preferred over the desi (indigenous) medicine and its practitioners. The survey data were then classified to reflect the major caste groupings in the study area; the untouchables (scheduled castes), the landowning caste ( Jats), and others. All groups showed a substantial preference for the angrezi system of medicine. Less than 4% of the sampled heads-of-households showed a clear preference for desi medicine. In none of the four villages was the indigenous physician preferred solely on the basis of either his ayurvedic or unani system of treatment. About a third of the sampled heads-of-households indicated that their preference for either angrezi or desi medicine would depend upon the particular malady. This suggests that the expectancy of cure is more consequential than a traditional commitment to a system of medicine. It is suggested that a culturally relevant classification of acute and chronic diseases, be developed to better appreciate the preferences of rural people for a specific system of medicine. The question of preference for the indigenous physicians also cannot be divorced from their social role in the rural milieu.