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Knowledge and use of traditional and complementary medicine during pregnancy among Primiparous women in Kigali - Rwanda

Title
Knowledge and use of traditional and complementary medicine during pregnancy among Primiparous women in Kigali - Rwanda
Author
Reverien
Advisor(s)
Jung Hye Hwang
Issue Date
2018-08
Publisher
한양대학교
Degree
Master
Abstract
Background: Traditional and complementary medicine also known as complementary and alternative medicine is continuously becoming popular all over the world with women among the most common users of it, whose majority continue to use it when they become pregnant. Although it is widely known and accepted, studies show that the knowledge of it among women from different societies is limited and its use is in many times influenced by social and cultural factors. While the utilization of TCM can be hazardous to women and their babies especially in low income countries such as in Africa where TCM therapies are widely used, there is lack of related research regarding the safety of TCM use during pregnancy and its efficacy is still controversial. The aim of this study was therefore to assess the current knowledge and use of traditional and complementary medicine during pregnancy among Primiparous women who live in the city of Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda in effort to generate information that could be used to inform policy makers about the TCM safety issue both in Rwanda and elsewhere. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study that used quantitative methods of data collection and analysis. Data was collected through a survey which utilized well designed interview questionnaire for data collection on 178 women in 6 selected district Hospitals and private TCM clinics. Data was processed and analyzed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS version 23. Results: It was found that the current level of knowledge among women on traditional and complementary medicine was very low. For each therapy that was tested, more than half of women were found to have never heard of it or heard of it but did not know the principles of its use. When compared to the other therapies, Garlic and Traditional herbs were the most known therapies 74(41.9%) and 72(40.8%) respectively, while the least known therapies were Reflexology and Yoga (meditation). It was also found that traditional and complementary medicine information was mainly obtained from family and friends. Personal use of TCM was found to be high among the women with 103 (57.5%) having personally ever used it during pregnancy and 59 (33%) having used it during one year before pregnancy. Conclusions: The current level of knowledge of TCM therapies among Rwandan Primiparous women is low while their use of TCM during pregnancy is high (57.5%). TCM use during pregnancy, was found to be associated with women’s knowledge of TCM, previous use, religion (P  0.001), perceived health status and presence of a family member who is a TCM user. The most common TCM modality was traditional herbal medicine. The majority of respondents perceived TCM as safe and effective and the level of disclosure of TCM use to healthcare providers was low and concomitant use of TCM with modern medicine was found to be high. It is important that the health system provides necessary and appropriate information about TCM to all women to ensure the better use of TCM Therapies and hence to improve maternal and newborn health.
URI
https://repository.hanyang.ac.kr/handle/20.500.11754/75552http://hanyang.dcollection.net/common/orgView/200000433415
Appears in Collections:
GRADUATE SCHOOL[S](대학원) > GLOBAL HEALTH & DEVELOPMENT(국제의료개발학과) > Theses (Master)
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