The Roles and Challenges of Traditional Health Practitioners in Maternal Health Services in Rural Communities of Mthatha, South Africa

Mvulakazi Patricia Thipanyane (), Sibusiso Cyprian Nomatshila, Hannibal Tafadzwa Musarurwa and Olanrewaju Oladimeji
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Mvulakazi Patricia Thipanyane: Department of Public Health, Preventive Medicine and Health Behavior Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha 5117, South Africa
Sibusiso Cyprian Nomatshila: Department of Public Health, Preventive Medicine and Health Behavior Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha 5117, South Africa
Hannibal Tafadzwa Musarurwa: Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha 5117, South Africa
Olanrewaju Oladimeji: Department of Public Health, Community Medicine Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha 5117, South Africa

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 20, 1-12

Abstract: Traditional health practitioners (THPs) are considered as the entry level of care in African societies and play an important role in the delivery of health services to the population. A phenomenological qualitative study was carried out among purposefully selected THPs in Mthatha to understand their roles and the challenges they face in providing maternal health services. The study included a focus group discussion with seven participants which yielded three themes and seven subthemes. The content analysis of descriptive data from the focus group discussion revealed threats posed by unregistered and counterfeit THPs to the lives of pregnant women in rural settings. The THPs’ wide range of services allowed pregnant women to receive prenatal, antenatal, and postnatal care in proximity. However, this community level of care was marked by high levels of secrecy and counterfeit practitioners who used human body parts, which compromised the practice and rendered it unpopular. The South African government recommended the establishment of a register for THPs in order to protect the public, including the clarification of functional referral pathways between THPs and conventional health services.

Keywords: traditional practitioners; maternal health; roles; challenges; rural (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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