Level of Utilization of Traditional Medicine in the Treatment of Malaria Among Pregnant Women in Taura Metropolis, Jigawa State
Chapter One
Objectives of the study
The main objective of the study is to examine the level of utilization of traditional medicine in the treatment of malaria among pregnant women in Taura metropolis Jigawa State. While, the specific purpose includes;
- To determine influence of socio-economic status on the use of traditional herbs in the treatment of malaria among pregnant women.
- To find out the extent to which the age of pregnant women determine the use of traditional herbs for the treatment of malaria.
- To find out the extent to which the level of education of pregnant women determine the use of traditional herbs for the treatment of malaria.
- To examine the extent to which the locality of pregnant women determine the use of locally made herbs for treatment of malaria.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Conceptual review
Geographical distribution
- falciparumis found mainly in the hotter and more humid regions of the world. It is the main species found in tropical and subtropical Africa and parts of Central America and South America, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Philippines, Haiti, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and many islands in Melanesia. It also occurs in parts of India, the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East.Plasmodium falciparum is the most commonly encountered species in West Africa including Nigeria (Seboxa and Snow,1997; Mbanugo and Ejims,2000; Aribodoret al; Asianyaet al,1999).
- vivaxis capable of developing in mosquitoes at lower temperatures than P. falciparum,and therefore has a wider distribution in temperate and subtropical areas. P. vivaxis the main Plasmodium species in South America, Mexico, the Middle East, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. It is also found in parts of Southern Asia, Indonesia, Philippines, Madagascar, tropical and subtropical Africa, china and Korea.
P.malariae has a much lower prevalence than P. falciparumand P. vivax. It accounts for up to 25% Plasmodium infection in tropical Africa. It is also found in India, Guyana, Malaysia and Sir Lanka. In these countries, it accounts for less than 10% of Plasmodium infections.
Plasmodium ovale has a restricted distribution and of low prevalence. It is found mainly in West Africa where it accounts for up to 10% of malaria infections. It has also been reported from other parts of the Far East, South East Asia and South America.
Epidemiology of malaria
The setbacks in attempts at malaria eradication have led to renewed interests in the epidemiology of malaria. Various factors interplay to determine the two epidemiological extremes of malaria, that is, stable and unstable malaria. Such factors include environmental (or climatic), vectorial, parasite and host factors and failure of control policies. Malaria not only increase malaria- specific morbidity and mortality but also affect the general health of the population. Many malaria epidemics coincide with periods of famine, economic meltdown, war or civil disturbances involving impoverished populations that are often affected by other disease as well. The greatest consequences of malaria cases in many parts of the world stems in large part to these economic and human factors (Dick, 1985).
Environmental factors
The potential of the mosquito to serve as a vector depends on the ability to support sporogony, mosquito abundance, and contact with humans, which are all influenced by climatic and ecological factor. Temperature and mosquito longevity are other key factors affecting the parasite’s interaction with the vector. Development of P. falciparum requires a minimum temperature of 200C, whereas the minimum temperature for the other species is 160C. Temperature also affects the time of development in that the duration of sporogony is shorter at higher temperatures. A shorter duration of sporogony increases the chances that the mosquito will transmit the infection within its lifespan .Climatic factors such as; altitude, temperature and rainfall and breeding places also affect mosquito density. Small increases in existing low temperatures have been shown to exert a strong effect on increased transmission of malaria (Bradley, 1993; Lindsay and Birley, 1996).In a site situated at 2000m in western Kenya, malaria cases steeped when mean monthly temperature exceeds 18C and rainfall greater than 1500mm per month(Malakootiet al, 1998).
CHAPTER THREE
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Research design
The study adopted a descriptive design. Data were collected by the use of structured questionnaire developed by the researchers. The questionnaire yielded a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.814 after testing suggesting good internal consistency and reliability of the instrument.
Sources of Data
The data for this study were generated from two main sources; Primary sources and secondary sources. The primary sources include questionnaire, interviews and observation. The secondary sources include journals, bulletins, textbooks and the internet.
Study area
This study was conducted in Taura, Jigawa state. Taura is a Local Government Area of Jigawa State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Taura. It has an area of 653 km² (252 sq mi) and a population of 131,757 at the 2006 census.
Sample size
The population of the study comprised of all pregnant women in Taura L.G.A in Jigawa state, giving a total of 93 women. This number was arrived at using the snowball method and data obtained from traditional birth attendants operating in the two communities. All were involved in the study.
Data collection
Prior to data collection, initial visits were made to each of the communities by the researchers for the purpose of introduction and establishment of rapport between the researcher and the leaders of the communities. Data collection was on the spot and lasted for a period of one month.
CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Results
Table 1 shows the sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents. Majority of the respondents were within the ages of 26 to 30 years (representing 42.7%), with a mean age of 28 years (±8). It also revealed that 80.6% of respondents were married. All the respondents were Christians. With respect to educational qualification, 45.2% were educated to tertiary level while 14% of the respondents had no formal education. Majority of the respondents (representing 60.2%) were traders while 39.8% of the respondents have an average monthly income of more than N20, 000.00.
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Conclusion
It can be concluded that majority of the pregnant women in Taura L.G.A use traditional medicine to treat malaria and majority affirmed that traditional medicines used in treating malaria was effective. Also, the perceived reasons for the use of traditional medicine include traditional medicine being more accessible than orthodox medicine, less expensive than orthodox medicine, the belief that traditional medicine will treat the malaria. Therefore, policies and intervention strategies by policymakers should be aimed at addressing the issues of use of traditional medicine in pregnancy by organizing enlightenment programmes that will enhance the attitudes of pregnant women to frequent health centres and clinics for appropriate treatment during antenatal and treatment of any ailment during pregnancy.
Recommendation
The findings from this study highlights an urgent need for nurses and other health care givers to be aware of this practice and make efforts in obtaining information about herb use during ante natal. There is need to create awareness on the possible side effects occurring from use of traditional medicine in pregnancy. Intervention strategies should be aimed at addressing the issues of use of traditional medicine in pregnancy by organizing enlighten- ment programmes that will enhance the attitudes of pregnant women to frequent health centers and clinics for appropriate treatment to be given to them during antenatal and treatment of any ailment during pregnancy. Adequate care should be provided and given to pregnant women when treating the pregnant women of malaria during antenatal. Orthodox medicine for prevention and treatment malaria should be made available, affordable if possible free and accessible to pregnant women in communities.
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