ABSTRACT

The study assessed the utilization of orthodox and traditional medicine in health-care management among rural farm households in South-South, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to: ascertain the health-care needs of farm households; determine the level of utilization of orthodox and traditional medicine, and examine the annual expenditure on orthodox and traditional medicine in health-care management among farm households, among others. A sample of 360 farm households was randomly selected through a multi-stage sampling technique. Primary data were collected through the use of structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Z-test and ANOVA were used to test the hypotheses. The result shows a prevalence of twelve illnesses in the study area with a grand mean score of (1.94). Respondents had low level of utilization for orthodox medicine and high level of utilization for traditional medicine with grand mean scores of (2.44) and (2.57). The respondents’ annual mean expenditure on orthodox medicine was N14, 331.30 compared to N5, 962.78 for traditional medicine. The Z-test showed a significant difference between the level of utilization of orthodox (2.444) and traditional (2.573) medicine with a Z- value of -3.271 at 5% level. Therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected. The Z-test also found a significant difference between the expenditure on orthodox and traditional medicine with a Z-value of 8.750. Therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected. Furthermore, the Z-test result found a significant difference between the farmers perception of the efficacy of orthodox and traditional medicine with a Z-value of 3.204 at 5% level. Therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected. The Z-test also showed a significant difference in respondents rating between the perceived factors affecting respondents’ utilization of orthodox and traditional medicine with a Z-value of 3.201 at 5% level, therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected. Moreover, ANOVA test showed significant difference in the levels of utilization of orthodox medicine across the three states with F-value of 6.654 at 5% level. Therefore the null hypothesis was rejected. Similarly, ANOVA test also showed significant differences in the level of utilization of traditional medicine across the three states with F-value of 16.105 at 5% level, therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected. Furthermore, the ANOVA test result also showed that significant differences existed in expenditure on orthodox medicine across the three states with an F-value of 6.161 at 5% level. Thus, the null hypothesis was rejected. Moreover, ANOVA test result also showed that significant differences existed in expenditure on traditional medicine across the three states with an F-value of 13.614 at 5% level, therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected. The study concluded that both orthodox and traditional medicines were utilized by farm households in South-South, Nigeria, but that the farmers were more favourably disposed to using traditional medicine than orthodox. It was recommended that Traditional medicine resource centres be established for people to start studying traditional medicine as a profession and policies be made to integrate traditional medicine into the mainstream of medical science, and that traditional medicine practitioners be empowered to function like the western medicine professionals.