Knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of community members of the Maluti-a-Phofung municipality, Free Sate, on homoeopathy

Abstract

Introduction: In South Africa Registered Homoeopaths are able to diagnose, prevent or treat physical and mental disease, illness or deficiencies in humans, prescribe or dispense medicine, or provide or prescribe treatment for such disease, illness or deficiencies in humans. Homoeopathy is one of the fastest growing healthcare systems worldwide (Manchanda 2018). Nevertheless, in South Africa there is a lack of knowledge and understanding of Homoeopathy and this has led to the limited utilization thereof. This survey intended to meet the following objectives; 1) To determine the knowledge of Homoeopathy amongst residents of the Maluti-a-Phofung Municipality in Free State Province and 2.) To determine the attitudes toward Homoeopathy amongst residents in the Maluti-a-Phofung Municipality in Free State Province and 3) To determine the perceptions of Homoeopathy amongst residents in Maluti-a-Phofung Municipality in Free State Province. Methodology: The study employed a quantitative design, which utilised a self-administered questionnaire to collect data. The setting of the study was at Maluti-a-Phofung Municipality, Free State Province, Qwaqwa, also called Witsieshoek, which has a population of 100 228. The data that emerged from the research was analysed in line with achieving the research objectives. All analysis was performed using SPSS version 26. The collected data was analysed by use of both descriptive and inferential statistics with the level of significance set at 0.05. Results: Out of the 226 respondents who participated in the survey, only 27% (n=61) had heard about Homoeopathy and most of their knowledge was from the media. Among this group (n=61) the majority believed that Homoeopathic medicine can treat the majority of diseases, that it emphasises a healthy life style, prescribes plants extracts, boosts the immune system, usually prescribes a diet, and prescribes medicines that are diluted and shaken. The majority of the respondents in this group (n=61) also perceived that the practice of Homoeopathy has scientific base, the medicines have undergone clinical validation through experimentation, are safe for use in infants, during pregnancy and in the elderly. Equally as important, it was found that some of the respondents (n=23) considered Homoeopathic medicine to be more effective in the treatment of both acute and chronic conditions than orthodox medicine. Subsequent to answering the survey, some of the participants mentioned that they would consider consulting with a Homoeopath because it was natural and many of the respondents showed interest in learning more of Homoeopathy. Conclusion: The data collected in this study confirms that of the 226 respondents who participated in the survey, only 27% (n=61) had heard about Homoeopathy. This confirms the significant lack of knowledge of the profession amongst residents of Maluti-a-Phofung Municipality.