Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Valley View University, Oyibi, Ghana.
Head of Nursing Department, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Valley View University, Accra, Ghana.
PLoS One. 2022 Jul 18;17(7):e0271669. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0271669. eCollection 2022.
Malaria is one of the leading causes of morbidity in the world. It is a significant health concern in most developing countries, including Ghana. Even though there are several orthodox medications used for decades in treating malaria effectively, a substantial number of individuals in developing countries are resorting to the use of herbs in the treatment of malaria. The study aim at exploring the practices of herbal management of malaria among trading mothers in Shai Osudoku District, Accra.
A qualitative approach with an exploratory, descriptive design was adopted in analyzing the research problem. Purposive sampling technique was used to select twenty (20) participants to partake in a face-face interview, guided by a semi-structured interview guide. The data were transcribed verbatim and analysed by adopting content analysis.
Two significant themes and seven subthemes were generated following the analysis of this study. The main themes were; preferences for herbal malaria treatment and the practices and effectiveness of herbal medicine used for malaria treatment. It was worth noting that the women's cultural beliefs did not influence their preference for herbal malaria treatment. The main challenge associated with the herbal malaria treatment was inappropriate dosage specification.
This study discovered that several factors influenced participants' preferences for malaria treatment. Participants further listed some traditional ways of treating malaria which implies that there is herbal malaria practice. However, literature in this area is inadequate, and most herbs lack specifications for use. It is therefore recommended that future research focus on scientific herbal malaria treatment. Also, regulating bodies should ensure that quality herbal drugs are sold for consumption.
疟疾是世界上主要的致病原因之一。在包括加纳在内的大多数发展中国家，疟疾都是一个严重的健康问题。尽管几十年来有几种正统药物被用于有效地治疗疟疾，但发展中国家的相当一部分人仍在使用草药治疗疟疾。本研究旨在探索在阿克拉 Shai Osudoku 区贸易母亲中使用草药治疗疟疾的做法。
采用定性方法，采用探索性、描述性设计来分析研究问题。采用目的抽样技术选择二十（20）名参与者进行面对面访谈，由半结构化访谈指南指导。数据逐字转录，并采用内容分析进行分析。
本研究分析后产生了两个重要主题和七个子主题。主要主题是：对草药疟疾治疗的偏好以及用于疟疾治疗的草药的实践和效果。值得注意的是，妇女的文化信仰并没有影响她们对草药疟疾治疗的偏好。与草药疟疾治疗相关的主要挑战是剂量说明不当。
本研究发现，有几个因素影响了参与者对疟疾治疗的偏好。参与者进一步列出了一些治疗疟疾的传统方法，这意味着存在草药疟疾治疗方法。然而，这方面的文献不足，大多数草药缺乏使用规范。因此，建议未来的研究集中在草药疟疾的科学治疗上。此外，监管机构应确保销售高质量的草药供消费。
