Patronage and effect of herbal medicine on residents of Bodija community in Ibadan metropolis

Abstract

The use of herbal medicine has been extensively studied among the adult and paediatric population with chronic illnesses, such as cancer and sickle cell anaemia. Although the therapies evolving have shown promising potential with the efficacy of a good number of herbal medicines established, many of them remain untested and their use is either poorly monitored or not monitored at all. Therefore, safety has also been a major issue with the use of herbal medicine, while there is the need for relevant regulatory authorities to be put in place with appropriate measures to prevent the abuse of herbal medicine. This study was geared towards investigating the patronage and effect of herbal medicine on the residents of Bodija community in the Ibadan metropolis. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. The simple random sampling technique was employed to select 125 residents of Bodija Community. Data was collected from this sample, using a close ended questionnaire tagged, “Patronage and Effect of Herbal Medicine Questionnaire”. The data was analysed using a frequency count and simple percentages. The findings revealed that herbal medicine is highly patronized in the community and that it was effective in the treatment of illnesses. The findings also revealed that there was no adverse effect from the usage of the herbal medicine. The study recommended that government should make efforts by fully integrating herbal medicine into the modern health care System, as part of its objective of providing affordable, accessible and effective health care for all. It is also recommended that a Standard healthcare regulating framework must be set up for herbal medicine practitioners, among others