Prevalence of Alternative Medicine Use Among Children Aged 1 Month to 16 Years Seeking Care at Ola During Children’s Hospital (Odch) Freetown, Sierra Leone

Abstract

Background: Alternative medicine (AM) refers to a set of medical practices that are outside conventional medical practices. They include herbs, spiritual healing, traditional manipulation, bone setting. The reasons for using alternative medicines over conventional medicines are varied depending on setting and include dissatisfaction with conventional medicines, previous positive experiences, and family traditions. Studies in Turkey, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and Africa have reported a great increase in the use of AM before seeking conventional medical care. There is however limited data on the prevalence of use, formulation types, and clinical outcomes of children who use AM before presenting to hospitals in Sierra Leone. Broad objective: To determine the magnitude and types of alternative medicine use among children aged 1 month-16 year seeking services at ODCH Freetown Sierra Leone. Study design and site: This was a cross-sectional study design that recruited participants aged 1 month-16 year seen at Ola During Children Hospital. Participants and Methods: The target population included children aged 1 month – 16 years seen at the children’s ward and the outpatient department at ODCH. The study adopted a consecutive sampling technique where 253 participants were recruited. A structured questionnaire was administered to all caregivers and guardians of children aged between 1 month – 16 years. Chi- square test and logistic regression analysis was used to describe associations. Results: The median age of caregivers was 27(1QR 22,34) years, and 90% were female. Sixty – six percent were Muslim, 64.4% were married and 61.7% were residing outside the western area. The prevalence of AM use among children in the past year was 77.5%. The majority (76% ) had used herbs, 16.8% resorted to spiritual healing, 4.6% had used traditional manipulation and 2.6% had used bone settings. The types of herbs commonly used were roots (65.8%) leaves, stems and flowers (24.7%), barks (28.1%), tubers (7.7%), fruits and seeds (5.1%), and rhizomes (3.6%) Forty-eight percent of the herbs were administered orally, 25.5% topically, 23% through smoking. On multivariable analysis residing outside western area, (aOR=1.815, 95%CI:1.121-2.871), duration of stay in current location 1 to 5 years, (aOR =5.76, 95%CI: 3.561-7.561) and 11 to 15 years, (aOR=4.512, 95%CI: 1.154-6.432) and birth order, (aOR=2.105, 95%CI: 1.015-4.366) were independently associated with AM use.

Conclusion and recommendation: The findings have shown that AM use is high among children in Freetown and, residing outside western area, longer duration of stay in current location and birth order are independently associated with higher AM use. There is a need for analytic studies looking at the composition, side effects, and morbidity associated with AM use.The ministry of Health (Sierra Leone) to evaluate if there is a role of AM alongside conventional medical therapy.