6.0. MODERN AND TRADITIONAL HEALTH CARE DELIVERY

6.1. Enumerate the Advantages and Disadvantages of Modern and Traditional Medicine

6.2. Describe the Socio-cultural Settings of Modern health Institutions

6.3. Describe Characteristics Unique to Traditional health Institutions 

6.4. Discuss the Best Method of health Care delivery using Modern hospitals and Health centres, as Reference points

Modern Health Care Delivery System (Orthodox Medicine)

It is the practice of preventing, diagnosing and treating both physically and mentally based on good knowledge of the human body, diseases and diseases agents and drugs. Modern Health Institutions since the ancient times have willed medical practice to maintain her relative purity, honesty, sincerity and trustworthiness.

Medical practitioners are scientific people socially regarded by the community as next to God, which by virtue of their training, exposure professes and pledges and ethics is supposed to be so. The type of training, time and cost of training make the profession and practice inaccessible to many people and communities. 

Characteristics of Modern Medicine

It is scientifically sound

It is hygienic both in method of preparation, procedure, administration and evaluation

It has a certain standard

It is documented

It is well funded

It is legislatively covered and has adequate control

It is clearly superior to traditional method

Advantages of Modern Medicine

1. Faster action due to antibiotics and steroids, surgery.

2. Modern medicines have increased the life expectancy of the people over the period of time.

3. Some modern medicines need not pass through digestive and circulatory system to reach its target.

4. Advanced medical devices; modern medicine boasts of highly advanced medical devices that doctors can use to ensure proper treatment. For instance, by looking at the images got from an X-ray, a doctor is able to locate the problem and then deal with it accordingly. This is not possible in herbal medicine, which is known to focus the emotional state of the patient.

Disadvantages of Modern Medicine

1. Modern Western Medicine is based on a narrow “scientific” model, and arrogantly ignores and rejects therapies and entire medical systems that don’t fit this model.

2. Lots of grave side effects including deaths.

3. Everyone with the same disease gets treated the same way, patient uniqueness ignored.

Types of Modern health Practitioners 

Medical doctors

Community Health Practitioners

Nurses and midwives

Medical laboratory Practitioners

Pharmacists

Radiologists

Environmental health Practitioners

Medical sociologists

Public Health Practitioners

Dentists

Medical record Officers

Health and social rehabilitation Officers

Traditional Medicine 

It is defined as the sum total of knowledge, skills and practices based on the theories, beliefs and experiences indigenous to different cultures and are used to maintain health and prevent, diagnose, improve or treat physical and mental illness.

Characteristics Unique of Traditional Health Institutions

• Based on the belief of the practitioner and the belief of the people using it

• The practitioners treat their skill as a secret act

• Materials, methods and techniques are also un-documented so the knowledge dies with the health

• It is unhygienic and thus may constitute more illness

• It is poorly organized

• Indigenous healers lack the skills needed to proffer correct diagnosis on every services disorder.

• They are always unwilling to accept the limitations of their knowledge, skills and medicines, particularly in complicated organic disorders.

• Traditional medicine lack standard dosage and have not been subjected to scientific verifications.

• Even though the educated are convinced that the healers’ supernatural knowledge and that this knowledge is medically useful, they found them to be unscrupulous, dubious and also have the penchant to extort money from their clients.

• The healers lack the equipment which is required to conduct physical examination.

Types of Traditional health care Delivery

Herbalists

Witch doctors or sorcerers

Diviners

Bone setters

Birth attendants

Surgeons

Massage therapists

Healers of psychiatrics

Advantages of Traditional Medicine

1. The herbs are more effective for long-standing health complaints. 

2.  The cost is minimal. Some of herb can be plant in our house.

3.  Some are easy to find, they do not need to be bought with a prescription

4.  Traditional medicines are known to be more productive in comparison to other forms of medication in curing certain conditions. Unless mixed with other chemical components, they are known to be all natural.

Disadvantages of Traditional Medicine

1. Herb can treat or heal a serious trauma.

2. There is risk of buying fake herb.

3.  Some diseases take more time to cure.

4. Traditional medicines can cause allergic reactions in some cases. Before resorting to herbal medication you need to ensure that you are not allergic to the particular herb that you will be consuming. Conventional medication can also cause allergic reactions, but they are usually taken upon prescriptions which is why the chances of allergic reactions are less. 

STUDENTS ACTIVITIES

Multiple Objective Questions

Choose the most accurate answer

1. All but one are characteristics of modern medicine

1. It is scientifically sound

2. It is hygienic

3. It has a certain standard

4. It is undocumented

2. One of the following is not a characteristic of traditional medicine

1. It is well organized

2. Based on the belief of the practitioner and the belief of the people using it

3. The practitioners treat their skill as a secret act

4. Materials, methods and techniques are also un-documented so the knowledge dies with the health

3. Advantages of modern medicine include all but

1. Faster action due to antibiotics and steroids, surgery.

2. Modern medicines have decreased the life expectancy of the people over the period of time.

3. Some modern medicines need not pass through digestive and circulatory system to reach its target.

4. Use of advanced medical devices

4. Modern medicine is defined as the sum total of knowledge, skills and practices based on the theories, beliefs and experiences indigenous to different cultures and are used to maintain health and prevent, diagnose, improve or treat physical and mental illness.

1. True

2. False

5. Modern health practitioners include all but:

1. Herbalists

2. Medical doctors

3. Community Health Practitioners

4. Nurses and midwives

6. All are disadvantages of traditional medicine except:

1. Herb can treat or heal a serious trauma

2. There is no risk of buying fake herb

3. Some diseases take more time to cure

4. Traditional medicines can cause allergic reactions in some cases 

7. Examples of traditional practitioners are:

1. Witch doctors 

2. Diviners

3. surgical doctors

4. Surgeons

8. Disadvantages of modern medicine are:

1. Modern Western Medicine is based on a narrow “scientific” model

2. Lots of grave side effects including deaths.

3. Everyone with the same disease gets treated the same way, 

4. Patient uniqueness is recognized 

9. ................is the practice of preventing, diagnosing and treating both physically and mentally based on good knowledge of the human body, diseases and diseases agents and drugs

1. Traditional medicine

2. Orthodox medicine

3. Spiritual medicine

4. Local medicine

10. ……………………….are scientific people socially regarded by the community as next to God, which by virtue of their training, exposure professes and pledges and ethics is supposed to be so.

1. Medical doctors

2. Surgical doctors

3. Medical practitioners

4. Traditional practitioners

Answers to Questions

1. d

2. a

3. b

4. b

5. a

6. b

7. c

8. d

9. b

10. c