Peter Bai James|Jon Wardle|Amie Steel|Jon Adams
Traditional, complementary and alternative medicine use in Sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review
University of Sierra Leone|University of Technology Sydney|University of Technology Sydney|Endeavour College of Natural Health|University of Technology Sydney|University of Technology Sydney
estimates considerable number people subsaharan africa ssa rely traditional complementary alternative medicine tcam meet primary healthcare needs yet remains dearth research evidence overall picture tcam utilisation regionwe conducted literature search original articles examining tcam use ssa 1 january 2006 28 february 2017 employing medline cumulative index nursing allied health literature allied complementary medicine database scopus proquest pubmed embase african journals online databases critical appraisal relevant articles reporting quantitative mixedmethod design undertakendespite heterogeneity general low quality identified literature review highlights relatively high use tcam alone combination orthodox medicine general population specific health conditions ssa tcam users compared nontcam users likely low socioeconomic educational status inconsistencies age sex spatial location religious affiliation tcam users nontcam users tcam users 558100 ssa fail disclose tcam use healthcare providers main reasons nondisclosure fear receiving improper care healthcare providers negative attitude lack enquiry tcam use healthcare providerstcam use ssa significant although studies emerge countries factors associated tcam use ssa similar observed regions research may required elucidate challenges opportunities related tcam use specific ssa