Abstract

DESIGNING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM FOR TRADITIONAL HEALERS TOWARDS DIABETES MELLITUS IN KHARTOUM STATE

Hala H.M. Zain*, Mofida Y. Elkhalifa, Mohammed A. Shayoub, Sania A.I. Shaddad

Abstract

Traditional medicine has a crucial role in building the health system in developing country. The World Health Organization also recognized traditional medicine as a vital health-care resource in developing countries and has encouraged governments to adopt policies to officially acknowledge and regulate the practice of traditional medicine. Moreover, many of the pharmaceutical products used in modern medicine, have directly or indirectly derived from the knowledge of traditional medicine (Abyot, 2014). The main objective of the study was to train traditional healers towards diabetes mellitus, and determine the awareness about diabetes also to exploresome of socio-demographic characteristic of the healers. The target population of the study was traditional healers in Khartoum state. The data were collected through pre and post questionnaires and interviews. The result found that (40%) of the respondents’ have poor knowledge about definition of diabetes before the diabetes course and after the training course become (11.4%), and there is statistical improvement in knowledge of diabetes causes, the study revealed that the traditional healers stated many of diabetic complications which was similar to those of modern medicine. Diabetes education, with consequent improvements in knowledge, attitudes and skills, will lead to better control of the disease, and is widely accepted to be an integral part of comprehensivediabetes care. The study concludes that lecture is successful way to train of traditional healers.

Keywords: Training of traditional healers, diabetes mellitus, traditional medicine, knowledge of traditional health practitioners.