Traditional Medicine Practice and Its Role in the Management of Malaria in Jimma Town, Oromia, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Traditional medicines have been used to treat malaria for thousands of years and are the source of the two main groups (artemisinin and quinine derivatives) of modern anti-malarial drugs. Objective: To assess the preference, practice, and factors associated with the practice of traditional medicine for malaria management. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 403 residents of Jimma town, Southwest Ethiopia. The data were collected by interviewing selected households. A simple random sampling technique was used to select the households. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 26, and descriptive statistics were used for describing and summarizing the data. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify factors associated with the practice of traditional medicine. The medicinal plants were tabulated in excel 2010 with their parts used, route of administration and side effects reported. The relative frequency of citation (RFC) was calculated, and the commonly used traditional medicines were reported. Results: More than half (64.1%) of the participants practiced traditional medicine. Age [AOR (95% CI) = 1.04 (1.01, 1.07)], family size [AOR (95% CI) = 1.78(1.42, 2.23)] and not having information on traditional medicine use for malaria [AOR (95% CI) = 0.95 (0.03, 0.31)] were factors associated with the practice of traditional medicine. However, only 10.6% of the participants preferred to use traditional medicine. Lepidium sativum (RFC= 0.016), Allium sativum (RFC= 0.014), and Zingiber officinale (RFC= 0.012) were the commonly used herbal products. Conclusions and Recommendations: Even though the preference to use traditional medicine was low, the community practiced traditional medicine for malaria management. Age, family size and information about traditional medicine use for malaria management were associated with the practice of traditional medicine. Lepidium sativum, Sativum allium and Zingiber officinale were the commonly used traditional medicines. The stakeholders are advised to act accordingly.