Western-trained health care practitioners' knowledge of and experiences with traditional healing

Traditional healing has been used alongside western allopathic medicine for many years. Studies have shown that majority of people in developing countries use the services of traditional healers. The question remains - how much do western-trained health care practitioners know about traditional healing and what are their experiences of traditional healing? The objective of this study was to investigate western-trained health care practitioners' knowledge and experiences with traditional healing, in order to contribute to the current debate and discussion on the possible integration of traditional healing and western healing in South Africa. This study used a Within-Stage Mixed Model design to collect data among 319 health care practitioners in South Africa namely Limpopo province and Gauteng province. Participants were sampled by using a convenient sampling method in which only health care practitioners who were at work during data collection had a chance of being selected. The Kruskal-Wallis Test revealed no significant difference in knowledge of traditional healing across the four groups of health care practitioners. However, significant differences were found in experiences with traditional healing across the four groups of health care practitioners. Overall, health care practitioners had a limited knowledge and experience of traditional healing. In conclusion, health care practitioners should be encouraged to engage in activities that would enhance their knowledge and experiences with traditional healing.