Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Traditional Medicine Among People of Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria

Abstract

Traditional medicine (TM) status in population with access to modern medicine is not well clear in the whole country, even though the acceptance of TM is a well-established fact. TM has gained popularity in all regions of the developing world. This study is aimed at accessing the general knowledge, attitude, practice, the extent of use, benefits and safety of TM among people of Jos North L.G.A. A descriptive cross sectional study was carried out on 300 residents of Jos North L.G.A. A systematic random sampling was used to select households at intervals of six. Data was collected through the use of structured open and closed ended questionnaires and interview and the data were analysed using SPSS 20. 274 out of 300 questionnaires were valid. Among the respondents, 56.9% are between 19-28 years. 100% of the participants have good knowledge of TM, 62.8% had no adverse effect from the use of TM, while 70.1% do not agree that TM is safer than modern medicine. 70.4% of the participants plan to use TM in the future. 29.9% of the respondent prefer TM, 31.8% prefer modern medicine while 38.3% prefer both. The population in Jos North has good knowledge with high acceptability and use of TM. The main reasons for the high acceptability are due to lesser cost, availability, effectiveness and efficacy.