Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37355619›Full record

ArticleAIDS research and therapy2023

Utilisation of traditional healers among older people living with HIV in South Africa: a WHO SAGE well-being of older people study.

Joshua Okyere, Castro Ayebeng, Bernard Afriyie Owusu, Wonder Agbemavi, Joseph Kwarteng Amoako, Kwamena Sekyi Dickson

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in AIDS research and therapy, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 23% 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

5 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. The holistic management of menopausal symptoms among indigenous women in the Gauteng province.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2026
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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

6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Joshua OkyereDepartment of Population and Health, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana. joshuaokyere54@gmail.com.
Castro AyebengDepartment of Population and Health, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Bernard Afriyie OwusuDepartment of Population and Health, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Wonder AgbemaviSchool of Demography, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
Joseph Kwarteng AmoakoDepartment of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, School of Biological Sciences, College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Kwamena Sekyi DicksonDepartment of Population and Health, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.ORCID 0000-0002-3152-2317
University of Cape Coast · GHAustralian National University · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWithin the African region, there are an estimated 8 million people living with HIV (PLHIV) in South Africa. Seeking healthcare services from traditional healers (TH) is one of the alternative and complementary approaches to HIV/AIDS treatment. Identifying the associated factors of TH utilisation among older PLHIV is crucial in developing healthcare interventions that cater to the unique needs of this vulnerable group. This study investigated the factors associated with TH utilisation among older PLHIV.

methodsWe studied 516 older PLHIV using data from the WHO SAGE Well-Being of Older People Study (2011-2013). Chi-square, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression were computed in STATA Version 14. The results were presented with both crude and adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and at 95% confidence interval (CI).

resultsOf the 516 participants, 15.89% utilised TH. The major reason for TH utilisation among older PLHIV was the perception of receiving better healthcare services from TH (51.2%) and the flexibility to pay with goods instead of money (14.6%). The factors associated with TH utilisation were age [AOR = 0.05; CI  0.01, 0.37], being hypertensive [AOR = 2.07; CI  1.04, 4.11], and having more than four servings of fruits [AOR = 10.64; CI  2.95, 38.34]. TH utilisation was significantly lower among those who visited the clinic once or twice [AOR = 0.17; CI  0.05, 0.63], three to six times [AOR = 0.16; CI  0.05, 0.56], and more than 6 times [AOR = 0.09; CI  0.03, 0.34] compared to those who had no clinic visits.

conclusionIn conclusion, a low proportion of TH utilisation was reported among older PLHIV in South Africa. TH utilisation is associated with age, hypertension status, frequency of clinic visits and fruit servings consumed. Our study suggests that being hypertensive was a motivating factor for older PLHIV to utilise TH. Therefore, it is imperative for the South African health department to integrate the services of TH into the mainstream health system to manage non-communicable diseases, particularly hypertension, among older PLHIV.

Indexed as

HIV InfectionsHypertensionAgedHumansSouth AfricaTraditional Medicine PractitionersWorld Health OrganizationHealth service researchHIVOlder peopleTraditional healersUtilisation

Identifiers

PMID37355619
PMCPMC10290787
OpenAlexW4381855652

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

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.