Abstract

Farmers are typically more traditional in outlook and this may impede utilisation of modern healthcare and bear negative implication for morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was therefore to examine attitude towards traditional medicine and utilisation of modern health care among crop-farmers in Saki West LGA, Oyo State. Using survey design, 200 copies of structured-questionnaire were administered via structured-interview to randomly selected respondents. Chi-square and contingency co-efficient were used to assess the significance and strength of associations between pairs of categorical variables respectively. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to assess relationship between attitude and utilisation. Univariate analysis indicates that 55% and 45% of respondents maintained maximally and minimally positive attitude towards traditional medicine respectively. Further, 2.5%, 54.0% and 43.5% of respondents were non-utilisers, low utilisers and high utilisers of modern healthcare, respectively. Sex and marital status were not significantly associated with utilisation of modern healthcare (p > 0.05) but religion and education were (p < 0.05). There was a significant, inverse and fairly strong relationship between attitude towards traditional medicine and utilisation of modern healthcare (r = -0.493, p = 0.000). Being Muslim and having increased education are significantly associated with lower and higher utilisation of modern healthcare among famers in the study area. The more positive the attitude towards traditional medicine, the less the utilisation of modern healthcare among farmers in the study area. Farmers? patronage of modern healthcare should be improved through making modern medicine more responsive to farmers the way traditional medicine does.

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