Maintenance of health and treatment of chronic conditions with indigenous medicine in South African urban and rural communities

Introduction:

Indigenous medicines (IM) are widely used throughout South Africa for minor pains to chronic conditions. Chronic diseases (CD) are growing burden worldwide and account for 63% mortality globally and 86% in South Africa. The objective of this study was to investigate the use of IM targeting key CD to provide better understanding of the treatment patterns of IM by participants in communities in South Africa.

Method:

A cross-sectional design study using Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) cohort was conducted to determine the prevalence and reasons of IM use among South African adults for the management of chronic health conditions. Participants (n= 443) were recruited from rural Eastern Cape and urban Western Cape regions of South Africa.

Results:

The overall prevalence of IM use was 31%, of which 17% was for chronic health conditions. Most participants indicated using IM for a variety of reasons: prevention/maintenance of good health (30%) and treatment (34%). Interestingly, IM was prescribed by family/friends/self-administered (45%); not prescribed by traditional practitioner.

Discussion:

Most patients used IM for the prevention, management and treatment of chronic conditions. The use of IM for specific chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes was not indicated. Health care professionals need to be aware of the potential dualistic use of IM and conventional drug use by patients. Patients should be queried and educated about potential effects of drug/herb use and interaction.