Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27033366›Full record

ArticleHealth policy and planning2016

Use of traditional medicine in middle-income countries: a WHO-SAGE study.

Oyinlola Oyebode, Ngianga-Bakwin Kandala, Peter J Chilton, Richard J Lilford

Open access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Health policy and planning, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 132 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
132citing papers in PubMed, 9 pooled it
22.5field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

132 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 416 citations in OpenAlex.

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  20. Exploring the Antidiabetic Properties ofMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
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72 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Oyinlola OyebodeUniversity of Warwick Medical School, Gibbet Hill Campus, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK o.r.o.oyebode@warwick.ac.uk.
Ngianga-Bakwin KandalaDepartment of Mathematics and Information sciences, Faculty of Engineering and Environment, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, UK and Health Economics and Evidence Synthesis Research Unit, Department of Population health Luxembourg Institute of Health, Strassen, Luxembourg.
Peter J ChiltonUniversity of Warwick Medical School, Gibbet Hill Campus, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK.
Richard J LilfordUniversity of Warwick Medical School, Gibbet Hill Campus, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK.
University of Warwick · GBNorthumbria University · GB

Funding

Department of Health WMCLAHRC-2014-1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

It is frequently stated in the scientific literature, official reports and the press that 80% of Asian and African populations use traditional medicine (TM) to meet their healthcare needs; however, this statistic was first reported in 1983. This study aimed to update knowledge of the prevalence of TM use and the characteristics of those who access it, to inform health policy-makers as countries seek to fulfil the WHO TM strategy 2014-23 and harness TM for population health. Prevalence of reported use of TM was studied in 35 334 participants of the WHO-SAGE, surveyed 2007-10. TM users were compared with users of modern healthcare in univariate and multivariate analyses. Characteristics examined included age, sex, geography (urban/rural), income quintile, education, self-reported health and presence of specific chronic conditions. This study found TM use was highest in India, 11.7% of people reported that their most frequent source of care during the previous 3 years was TM; 19.0% reported TM use in the previous 12 months. In contrast <3% reported TM as their most frequent source of care in China, Ghana, Mexico, Russia and South Africa; and <2% reported using TM in the previous year in Ghana, Mexico, Russia and South Africa. In univariate analyses, poorer, less educated and rural participants were more likely to be TM-users. In the China multivariate analysis, rurality, poor self-reported health and presence of arthritis were associated with TM use; whereas diagnosed diabetes, hypertension and cataracts were less prevalent in TM users. In Ghana and India, lower income, depression and hypertension were associated with TM use. In conclusion, TM use is less frequent than commonly reported. It may be unnecessary, and perhaps futile, to seek to employ TM for population health needs when populations are increasingly using modern medicine.

Indexed as

Rural PopulationSocioeconomic FactorsAdultAgedChronic DiseaseDeveloping CountriesFemaleHealth PolicyHealth SurveysHumansMaleMedicine, TraditionalMiddle AgedWorld Health Organizationdeveloping countrieshealth policyMedicinetraditionalWorld Health Organization

Identifiers

PMID27033366
PMCPMC5013777
OpenAlexW2324331745

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.