UNASSIGNED: Traditional healers are in the front line to give the mental healthcare service in developing countries like Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, different studies were done focusing on the role of traditional medicine and perception of the community toward traditional medicine. However, there is paucity of studies, which shows the level of mental health literacy among traditional healers. Therefore, this study intended to mental health literacy level of traditional healers in Jimma town, Ethiopia.
UNASSIGNED: A community-based cross-sectional study design was employed among 310 participants. To select the participants from Jimma town, a stratified random sampling method was utilized from August 1 to September 30, 2020. The Mental Health Literacy Questionnaire was used to assess mental health literacy for assessment of mental health literacy among traditional healers. The collected data were coded and entered into EpiData version 4.6 and exported to SPSS version 25.0 for analysis. Bivariate and multivariable linear regression was used for data analysis.
UNASSIGNED: The finding of this study showed that the samples of traditional healers found in Jimma town scored a total mean of 95.91 ± 3.0025 for mental health literacy. Age [β = -0.052 (95% CI: -0.078, -0.026)], year of experience [β = 0.095 (95% CI: 0.067, 0.123)], family history of mental illness [β = 1.709 (95% CI: 0.543, 2.360)], history of professional help seeking on mental illness [β = 0.501 (95% CI: 0.715, 2.288)], history of getting information of mental illness on media [β = 0.941 (95% CI: 0.345, 1.538)], training on mental health [β = 2.213 (995% CI: 1.520, 2.906)], history of treating mental illness [β = 1.676 (95% CI: 0.808, 2.544)], and informal education [β = -1.664 (95% CI: -2.081, -1.247)] were factors significantly associated with MHL.
UNASSIGNED: The mental health literacy of traditional healers mean score is lower than the mean score of other studies. Age, year of experience, training on mental illness, family history, history of professional help seeking, history of treating mental illness, information on mental illness, and informal education are significantly associated with mental health literacy. Therefore, structured training is very important to improve their level of mental health literacy.

UNASSIGNED: Traditional eye medicine (TEM) is becoming more widely used across the world. Depending on the drugs used, TEM usage can be considered harmful or innocuous. The therapy may induce infection or irreparable blindness in the already injured eye.The aim of the study was to determine the proportion of traditional eye medicine practices and associated factors among adult ophthalmic patients attending ophthalmic clinics in the governmental hospitals in the West Bank.
UNASSIGNED: A cross-sectional study conducted on 300 patients. The data was collected using a structured, self-administered questionnaire.
UNASSIGNED: The results of the study revealed that 65.7% of people use TEM. The most common symptoms that necessitated the use of traditional eye practice were inflammatory symptoms of the eye (49.2%), blurred vision (15.7%), and allergic conjunctivitis (10.7%). The most common TEM used was tea (34.0%), followed by herbal products (25.4%) and vegetable slices (potato, cucumber, and onion) (14.7%). The most traditional eye treatment was the topical route (92.9%). The majority of prescribers of traditional eye practice were traditional healers (48.7%). Furthermore, the current study found that occupation and the income were predictors of using traditional eye practice among ophthalmic patients attending ophthalmic clinics in selected West Bank hospitals.
UNASSIGNED: The proportion of traditional eye medicine practice was high among ophthalmic patients in the West Bank. The predictors of using traditional eye treatment were occupation and the income. The most common TEM used was tea, followed by herbal products and vegetable slices (potato, cucumber, and onion).

Understanding mental healthcare seeking and associated factors is essential for planning mental health services. This study aimed to assess treatment seeking and barriers to care for depressive symptoms and hazardous drinking in a community sample of Northwest Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was conducted to screen 1,728 participants for depressive symptoms (n = 414) and hazardous drinking (n = 155). Participants were asked whether they had sought mental healthcare. We also assessed the barriers to seeking mental healthcare. Logistic regression was used to identify associated factors. Among people with depressive symptoms, 14.3%, 15.5%, and 19.6% sought treatment from healthcare settings, non-healthcare settings, or any sources, respectively. Religious places (39.5%) were the most helpful treatment sources. People with low levels of internalized stigma (adj OR = 3.00 [1.41, 6.42]) and positive attitudes towards mental illness (adj OR = 2.84 [1.33, 6.07]) were nearly threefold more likely to seek depression treatment. No participants with hazardous drinking sought treatment from healthcare settings, and only 1.3% had sought help from families/friends. Over 97% of participants with depressive symptoms and hazardous drinking reported at least one barrier to treatment-seeking from a healthcare setting. Religious and traditional healers were as important as healthcare settings for treatment-seeking.

UNASSIGNED: Collaboration between traditional and biomedical medicine can lead to holistic care and improved health outcomes for people with mental illnesses. The current study aimed to explore the views and experiences of traditional and western medicine practitioners on potential collaboration in the care of people living with mental illness in Blantyre, Malawi.
UNASSIGNED: A phenomenological qualitative research design was used. Data were collected using both one-on-one in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs). Participants were traditional healers and western medicine practitioners in Blantyre, Malawi. We conducted 10 in-depth interviews with traditional healers, 4 focus group discussions (2 for traditional healers and 2 for western medicine practitioners) and 6 key informant interviews with leaders of the two groups. The sample was determined based on data saturation. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. We used a combination of deductive and inductive coding.
UNASSIGNED: Five broad themes were identified from the data: experiences with collaboration, views on collaboration, models of collaboration, barriers to collaboration, and factors that can facilitate collaboration. participants had no experience of formal collaboration between traditional healers and western healthcare workers in the management of mental illness. However, some reported experience of successful collaborations in other health areas such as safe motherhood, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. Many participants showed a positive attitude toward collaboration and were in support of it. Barriers to collaboration included negative attitudes and a lack of resources. Factors that can facilitate collaboration were dialogue, training and respect. Referral and training were the preferred forms of collaboration.
UNASSIGNED: With proper structures and respectful dialogue, a collaboration between traditional and western medicine practitioners is possible in Blantyre, Malawi.

This study was conducted in Kebridehar and Shekosh districts, Ethiopia, to investigate an ethnobotanical study on traditional medicinal plants. Systematic random sampling techniques were used for data collection. Preference ranking, paired comparison, informant consensus factor, direct matrix ranking, and jaccard comparison were used for data analysis. A total of 44 medicinal plant species from 34 genera and 23 families have been documented as being used to treat 38 human, 5 livestock, and 1 both human and livestock ailment. The shrub category was the dominant growth form in the study area. The study showed that the most frequently used plant parts for the preparation of traditional medicine were roots (45.45 %), followed by leaves, glue, and liquid (11.36 % each). The most common route of administration was oral (30.77 %), followed by dermal (20.51 %). Jaccard\'s Coefficient of Similarity for Kebridehar and Shekosh for the reported traditional medicinal plants were 0.21, indicating some trend towards using common plants. Methanol extracts were more effective than ethanol extracts. The results of this study provide an insight into the anti-bacterial properties of the extracts of Aloe megalacantha, Ephorbiarobecchi, and Oppiliacampestris. This in vitro study demonstrated that these three folklore medicinal plants have good potential. In conclusion, the main threat to medicinal plants in the study area was drought. Therefore, it is recommended that the cultivation of medicinal plants be encouraged in home gardens.

UNASSIGNED: The tribal culture views health care practices differently from the mainstream. Infertile tribal women practice treatment-seeking behaviour that reflects the community\'s cultural access to and availability of treatment as well as customs to meet their health care needs. In the environment of rising awareness of infertility and numerous treatment options, this study aims to highlight the infertility treatment-seeking behaviour of tribal communities.
UNASSIGNED: The study employed a mix methods approach to collect data from 153 tribal couples suffering with infertility (interview schedule) and the community (in-depth interviews-14 and focus group discussions-12). The data was analyzed using Stata 13.0, and NVivo 10. Results of the quantitative data were triangulated with qualitative data for writing.
UNASSIGNED: Many treatment options were available for infertility in the community. Generally, traditional healers (98.7%) were preferred over modern healthcare practitioners (35%). Community members usually guided infertile couples for choosing providers. Treatment practices were very different among primary infertile women than sub-fertile. Women frequently discontinued treatment and switched between providers because of unaffordability, poor connectivity, distance, travel time, time constraints, and non-supportive circumstances. The couples were advised to consume herbs, and eat or avoid certain food items, were given massage, burns on the abdomen (dagani), removed black blood (phasani) and other various rituals to appease spirits, get rid of ghosts while offering animal sacrifice, and conducting shidwa ritual. The mean expenditure on treatment was INR 18,374. If treatment did not yield any result, couple resorted to add another wife, divorce, accept childlessness and foster a child.
UNASSIGNED: Local authorities should strive to work towards the socio-economic development of the tribal communities and provide good healthcare services at their doorstep. The infertility problem needs to be understood in the context of poverty, tribal beliefs, and unequal access to healthcare resources.

UNASSIGNED: Over 9 million people die from mental diseases each year, making them the second highest cause of mortality and the primary cause of disability worldwide.
UNASSIGNED: To explore the preferences for health care and its determinants among mentally ill patients in the West Shoa Zone Community in Oromia, Ethiopia, from July 11-September 20, 2022.
UNASSIGNED: The preference for health care and its determinants among mentally ill patients in the West Shoa Zone community were explored using an ethnographical study. Purposefully, a total of 16 FGD participants and 10 unstructured interview subjects, who had pertinent experiences and perspectives, were carefully selected from the urban and district levels. Data was collected utilizing two approaches in a triangulated manner and then coded, findings were contextualized, and a thematic plot was developed for thematic analysis.
UNASSIGNED: In this study, in response to the questions, three main findings were thematized according to the causes, and six sub-themes were framed under the themes according to the preferences for treatment among mentally ill patients. The themes that emerged from the data were; 1. Supernatural causes, 2. Traditional non-spiritual beliefs and practices; and 3. Medico-surgical problems. The majority of the participants responded that residents preferred religious spiritualists the most (46%), followed by traditional counselors (Wabeka) (19%), traditional spiritualists (15%), institutional care (12%), herbalists (4%), and psychologists (4%).
UNASSIGNED: In this study, the most commonly perceived causes of mental illnesses were bad spirits, devilish activity, and engaging in actions that violated social norms and regulations. Religious spiritualists were the study\'s first choice for mental health care. This study advises collaboration and a shared strategy between health care professionals and traditional and religious stakeholders.

BACKGROUND: A better understanding of attitudes and beliefs held by traditional healers and utilizers of traditional medicine concerning mental health conditions in Liberia is important as Liberia seeks to improve its delivery of mental healthcare in the context of scarce resources and recovery from civil war.
METHODS: A qualitative research design was used to collect data from 24 Liberian traditional healers, and 11 utilizers of Liberian traditional medicine. Participants were queried about mental health problems in Liberia, treatments, and attitudes towards modern healthcare. Qualitative data were probed and aggregated using content analysis.
RESULTS: Mental health problems described by study participants included: Open Mole, African Science, Epilepsy, Depression and Mental Illness (trauma/substance use). Mental health problems were often associated with socioeconomic distress, and participants described their attitudes and beliefs concerning mental healthcare, traditional medicine, and modern healthcare.
CONCLUSIONS: Traditional medicine is an important part of mental healthcare in Africa. Mental illness, social factors, and healthcare access were important problems in Liberia. Mental health problems blended local cultural beliefs with Westernized nosology and social factors. Traditional healer\'s attitudes towards Western medicine reflected ambivalence. There is a desire for collaboration with \'modern\' health care providers, but this will require reciprocal trust-building.

UNASSIGNED: Traditional eye medicine is a form of biologically based therapies, practices, or partially processed organic or inorganic agents that can be applied to the eye and lead to a blinding complication. Attitude towards those medicines plays a pertinent role in the practice of those traditional eye medicines.
UNASSIGNED: To determine attitude towards traditional eye medicine and associated factors among adult ophthalmic patients attending University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital-Tertiary Eye Care and Training Center, Northwest Ethiopia, 2020.
UNASSIGNED: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 417 newly presenting adult ophthalmic patients who were selected by using a systematic random sampling method from June 22 to August 11, 2020. The data from the interview-based structured questionnaire were entered into Epi Info 7 and analyzed by SPSS 20. Frequency and cross-tabulations were used for descriptive analysis. Association between variables was analyzed using binary logistic regression through the enter method with a 95% confidence interval.
UNASSIGNED: A total of 417 subjects with a 98.8% response rate have participated in the study. Of the total study subjects, 60.7% (253) (95% CI: 19-26%) had a positive attitude towards traditional eye medicine. Residing in a rural area (AOR=6.46 (95% CI: 2.89-14.45)), positive family history of traditional eye medicine use (AOR=8.01 (95% CI: 4.17-15.37)) and availability of traditional healer (AOR=19.43 (95% CI: 12.06-31.64)) were significantly associated with a positive attitude towards traditional eye medicine.
UNASSIGNED: Most adult ophthalmic patients had a positive attitude towards traditional eye medicine. Residing in a rural, availability of a traditional healer, and positive family history of traditional eye medicine use had a significant positive association with a positive attitude. Educating the traditional healers on safe practices is crucial in reducing the burden.

BACKGROUND: Lack of information exists about the use of traditional and complementary medicine (TCM) use among middle-aged and older adults in India, which led to studying the estimates of past-12-month Ayurveda/Yoga/Naturopathy/Unani/Siddha/Homeopathy (AYUSH) practitioner and traditional health practitioner (THP) utilization in India.
METHODS: The study included 72,262 individuals (45 years and older) from the cross-sectional 2017-2018 Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) Wave 1.
RESULTS: The prevalence of past 12-month AYUSH practitioner utilization was 6.5%, THP use 7.0%, and AYUSH or THP use 13.0%. The rate of AYUSH practitioner utilization was determined by older age (≥60 years) (Adjusted Odds Ratio-AOR: 1.20, 95% Confidence Interval-CI: 1.07-1.34), having pain (AOR: 1.48, 95% CI: 1.29-1.69), any bone or joint diseases (AOR: 1.57, 95% CI: 1.35-1.82), current tobacco use (AOR: 1.30, 95% CI: 1.12-1.50), male sex (AOR: 0.76, 95% CI: 0.68-0.85), high subjective socioeconomic status (AOR: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.60-0.87), urban residence (AOR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.57-0.88), diabetes (AOR: 0.66, 95% CI: 0.55-0.81), chronic heart disease (AOR: 0.52, 95% CI: 0.37-0.73), and having a health insurance cover (AOR: 0.36, 95% CI: 0.30-0.44). The rate of THP utilization was determined by depressive symptoms (AOR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.01-1.35), sleep problems (AOR: 1.28, 95% CI: 1.08-1.51), having pain (AOR: 1.82, 95% CI: 1.55-2.15), current tobacco use (AOR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.22-1.51), having health insurance cover (AOR: 0.41, 95% CI: 0.33-0.51), hypertension (AOR: 0.82, 95% CI: 0.71-0.95), diabetes (AOR: 0.50, 95% CI: 0.39-0.65), urban residence (AOR: 0.25, 95% CI: 0.19-0.34), and high subjective socioeconomic status (AOR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.58-0.85).
CONCLUSIONS: A moderate prevalence of AYUSH practitioner and THP use among middle-aged and older adults in India was found and several factors associated with AYUSH practitioner and THP use were identified.