African Traditional Medicine at the Cross Roads in South Africa Challenges faced by its institutionalisation

This book explores the views of a cross-section of the KwaZulu-Natal Traditional Health Practitioner (THP) community regarding the transformation of the traditional medicine sector necessitated by legislation: the Constitution, the Health Act and the Traditional Health Practitioners (THP) Act. The changes have implications for the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and Human Resource Officials.

Research findings of this study found that 84 per cent of the participating Traditional Health Practitioners did not know the existence of the THP Act, how it is being implemented and how it will affect them. Furthermore, the study indicates that there has been a reduction in the duration of training for THPs from an average of five years to one year while about 20 per cent of participating THPs have not actually had any training. This has serious implications for ethical patient care. As a result of findings of the study, several recommendations are made to improve this situation as well as inform the public of these developments.

"I am certain it will prove to be of great interest to those who work and/or study in this field or who are currently researching their own dissertations or theses and are looking for relevant literature."

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