ArticleBMJ open2016
Traditional medicine used in childbirth and for childhood diarrhoea in Nigeria's Cross River State: interviews with traditional practitioners and a statewide cross-sectional study.
Article in BMJ open, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- The use of traditional medicine practitioner services for childhood illnesses among childbearing women: a multilevel analysis of demographic and health surveys in 32 sub-Saharan African countries.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2023Pooled it
- The use of traditional medicine in maternity care among African women in Africa and the diaspora: a systematic review.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2017Pooled it
- Article
- Parental traditional medicine use for children and associated factors in Harar City, Harari Regional State, Eastern Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2025Article
- The Roles and Challenges of Traditional Health Practitioners in Maternal Health Services in Rural Communities of Mthatha, South Africa.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Perceptions and use of traditional African medicine in Lubumbashi, Haut-Katanga province (DR Congo): A cross-sectional study.PloS one · 2022Article
- Causes of short birth interval (kunika) in Bauchi State, Nigeria: systematizing local knowledge with fuzzy cognitive mapping.Reproductive health · 2021Article
- Article
- Use of traditional and complementary medicine for maternal health and wellbeing by African migrant women in Australia: a mixed method study.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2020Article
- Traditional, complementary and alternative medicine use in Sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review.BMJ global health · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesExamine factors associated with use of traditional medicine during childbirth and in management of childhood diarrhoea.
designCross-sectional cluster survey, household interviews in a stratified last stage random sample of 90 census enumeration areas; unstructured interviews with traditional doctors.
settingOil-rich Cross River State in south-eastern Nigeria has 3.5 million residents, most of whom depend on a subsistence agriculture economy.
participants8089 women aged 15-49 years in 7685 households reported on the health of 11,305 children aged 0-36 months in July-August 2011. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Traditional medicine used at childbirth and for management of childhood diarrhoea; covariates included access to Western medicine and education, economic conditions, engagement with the modern state and family relations. Cluster-adjusted analysis relied on the Mantel-Haenszel procedure and Mantel extension.
results24.1% (1371/5686) of women reported using traditional medicine at childbirth; these women had less education, accessed antenatal care less, experienced more family violence and were less likely to have birth certificates for their children. 11.3% (615/5425) of young children with diarrhoea were taken to traditional medical practitioners; these children were less likely to receive BCG, to have birth certificates, to live in households with a more educated head, or to use fuel other than charcoal for cooking. Education showed a gradient with decreasing use of traditional medicine for childbirth (χ(2) 135.2) and for childhood diarrhoea (χ(2) 77.2).
conclusionsUse of traditional medicine is associated with several factors related to cultural transition and to health status, with formal education playing a prominent role. Any assessment of the effectiveness of traditional medicine should anticipate confounding by these factors, which are widely recognised to affect health in their own right.
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