Access of Traditional Medicine for the Treatment of Malaria among Rural Farmers in Abia State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated the level of access and utilization of traditional medicine for treatment of malaria among rural households in Abia State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study described socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents; ascertained the level of access to traditional medicine; ascertained the extent of utilization of traditional medicine and determined factors influencing access and utilization of traditional medicine in the study area. Data for the study were collected from (80) respondents using structured questionnaire and analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics (Tobit regression). The result showed that 55.0% of the respondents were males, average age of 58.45 years, 81.2% were married and 45.0% had secondary education. The study further revealed that respondents had high access to medicinal plants from market (mean = 2.35) and traditional medical practitioners (mean = 2.36). The respondents highly utilized traditional medicine with grand mean of 2.0. Tobit regression result showed that coefficient of age, years of education, income and farming experience influenced access to traditional medicine at 1% probability level. Coefficients of gender, age, occupation and income at 1%, 5%, 1% and 1% probability level respectively influenced utilization of traditional medicine in the study area. The study concluded that there was moderate access and high utilization of traditional medicine for treatment of malaria in the study area, and recommended ensuring appropriate information on traditional medicine for effective access and utilization.