Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30348173›Full record

ArticleBMC complementary and alternative medicine2018

Identifying strengths and weaknesses of the integration of biomedical and herbal medicine units in Ghana using the WHO Health Systems Framework: a qualitative study.

Bernard Appiah, Isaac Kingsley Amponsah, Anubhuti Poudyal, Merlin Lincoln Kwao Mensah

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Article in BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
25citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

25 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  13. Medical pluralism, healthcare utilization and patient wellbeing: The case of Akan cancer patients in Ghana.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2023
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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.

Bernard AppiahResearch Program on Public and International Engagement for Health, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843-1266, USA. appiah@sph.tamhsc.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5473-3459
Isaac Kingsley AmponsahDepartment of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Anubhuti PoudyalDepartment of Health Promotion and Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843-1266, USA.
Merlin Lincoln Kwao MensahDepartment of Herbal Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.

Funding

Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program 15165003
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe use of herbal medicines in developing countries has been increasing over the years. In Ghana, since 2011, the government has been piloting the integration of herbal medicine in 17 public hospitals. However, the strengths and the weaknesses of the integration have not been fully explored. The current study sought to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the integration using the WHO health systems framework.

methodsThis study used qualitative, exploratory study design involving interviews of 25 key informants. The respondents had experience in conducting herbal medicine research. Two key informants were medical herbalists practising in hospitals piloting the integration in Ghana. We used Framework analysis to identify the perspectives of key informants in regards to the integration. 

resultsKey informants mostly support the integration although some noted that the government needs to support scale-up in other public hospitals. Among the strengths cited were the employment of medical herbalists, utilization of traditional knowledge, research opportunities, and efficient service delivery by restricting the prescription and use of fake herbal medicine. The weaknesses were the lack of government policies on implementing the integration, financial challenges because the National Health Insurance Scheme does not cover herbal medicine, poor advocacy and research opportunities, and lack of training of conventional health practitioners in herbal medicine.

conclusionsResearchers view the integration of the two healthcare systems-biomedicine, and herbal medicine- positively but it has challenges that need to be addressed. The integration could offer more opportunities for researching into herbal medicine. More training for conventional health professionals in herbal medicine could increase the chances of better coordination between the two units. Additionally, strong advocacy and publicity is needed to educate more people on the integration and the utilization of the services.

Indexed as

Integrative MedicinePhytotherapyQualitative ResearchGhanaHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeHerbal MedicineHumansMedicine, African TraditionalBiomedicineGhanaHerbal medicineIntegrationQualitative researchResearch

Identifiers

PMID30348173
PMCPMC6196414

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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.