HOUSEHOLD PREFERENCE FOR TRADITIONAL/HERBAL AND MODERN MEDICINE IN ABUJA, NIGERIA

Abstract

The use of herbal medicinal products and supplements has increased enormously over the past three decades with not less than 80% of people globally depending on them for some part of primary healthcare. However, this might be the case in many Cities. This study seeks to determine. Household preference for traditional/herbal and modern medicine in Abuja, Nigeria. Cross-sectional data from the primary source was used for this study. Two hundred and twenty (220) individuals responded to the survey hence that constitutes the sample size used for the study. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data set. From the result, the mean age was 33.7 years. About 90.9% of the respondents in the study area had tertiary education. Most (60%) of the respondents were female in the study. Most (50%) of the respondents were civil servants and 58.63% of the respondents have a household size below 5 persons. 60% of the respondents prefer modern/contemporary drugs, 25.91% prefer traditional/local drugs, and 14.09% prefer to seek out spiritual prayers when they are sick. Dosage of traditional medicine cannot be regulated was the most ranked perception of the respondents. Most (55%) of the respondent posit that they were dizzy after taking traditional medicine. From the foregoing, it can be concluded that the usage of traditional medicine was still poor, as most of the households in the study posit that they preferred modern drugs. Majority of the respondent also opined that the dosage of traditional drugs could not be properly regulated. Traditional drugs had negative side effects including heavy dizziness, purging among others. Based on the findings of the study, it is therefore recommended that training and re-training be done for the producers of traditional medicine on how to better prescribe the necessary dosage per time. It is also recommended that an advocacy campaign be carried out to encourage patronage of locally produced herbs given that some of the imported or foreign drugs are made from herbs as well.