Patient management experiences of individuals attending a homoeopathic community health centre

Abstract

Durban University of Technology (DUT) set up a homeopathic satellite centre in cooperation with Lifeline Ukuba Nesibindi Homeopathic Community Health Centre (UNHCHC) in 2004. UNHCHC is a centre for teaching students doing their Bachelor's and Master's degree in Technology in Homoeopathy. UNHCHC offers free primary services to patients by homeopathic students and is situated less than a kilometer away from DUT. Patient management at this facility involves the following: maintenance or improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments. It also includes communication, empathy, examination, evaluation, prognosis, and intervention. This encompasses the interaction, from intake to discharge, between the patient and UNHCHC. Patient experience includes the range of interactions that patients have with the health care system, including their care through health plans, and from doctors, nurses and staff, physician practices, and other healthcare facilities. Hence it was vital that the experiences of patients attending this homeopathic community health centre be evaluated. The study that was conducted by Dube (2015) analyzing patients' perceptions of their first homeopathic consultation at the UNHCHC, respondents determined that the homeopathic consultation was rather different from what they were accustomed to. The difference that was noted by respondents included friendliness, professionalism, deep, thorough attentive case taking and physical examinations. In contrast, Ndlovu (2015) found that patients were dissatisfied with service delivery offered in public hospitals around iLembe Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal. This research was conducted to determine and compare differences in patient management in allopathic versus homeopathic consultations, including how patients were treated in each. Methodology An adaptation of a quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional analysis was used to guide the study. A questionnaire with both closed- and open-ended questions was used to obtain data from 100 consenting participants. The participants must have had a consultation with a homeopath before answering the questionnaire. Participants attending UNHCHC for the first time had to wait until after a consultation in order to participate, while those arriving for follow up visits were able to participate before or after consultation. The data were encoded and entered by the researcher onto an Excel spreadsheet, and then imported into Excel® XP™ 2016 and SPSS® v25 for Windows™ for analysis. Results Data from this study indicate that there was a significant level of satisfaction with the following areas of homeopathic consultation: time management, consultation and level of hygiene. Patients also perceived homeopathic medicine as safer, with less side-effects and more easily available than allopathic medication. The data also showed a high level of dissatisfaction with services rendered by public hospitals and clinics compared to those rendered by UNHCHC. The majority (91%) of patients said that given the option, they would consult with homeopaths, and would like homeopathy to be integrated into the public health sector. Of the participants, 81% said they would like homeopathy to be integrated into the public healthcare sector as this would help alleviate the pressure faced by this sector, especially regarding the shortage of doctors.