Background. Traditional bone setting (TBS) practice is an
important part of health care delivery in many developing countries
and has been in Nigeria for long. Despite the complications
that arise from the cultural practice, TBS services is still in high
demand by a significant number of people. This study was conducted
to determine the factors that influence the utilization of
TBS practice.
Methods. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out
using a semi structured questionnaire to gather information from
400 randomly selected residents of Ilorin West LGA in north central
Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique was used in selecting
the respondents.
Results. The respondents were between the ages of 18-72 years
with a mean age of 36.3 ± 12.3. Three hundred and three (77.3%)
of the respondents know of TBS practice as a way of getting treatment
for bone injuries. More than two third 210 (69.3%) of the
respondents who know TBS practice as a form of treatment for
bone injuries think that TBS therapy is preferable to Orthodox
medicine in handling bone injuries. Reasons for preference are
that it is cheap 134 (63.8%), acceptable 123 (58.6%) and accessible
109 (51.9%) to them. More than half (52.3%) of the respondents
had patronized TBS treatment at one time or the other. Main
reason for patronage of TBS was influence from family members
and friends (53.6%). However, factors that influence the
respondents decision to utilize TBS treatment include attitude of
health workers 310 (77.5%), delay in hospitals 284(71.0%) fear
of amputation 272 (54.35) and fear of operation 217(54.3%) in
hospitals. There was a statistically significant (p < 0.05) relationship
between respondents age, sex, marital status, occupation,
ethnicity as well as the income level of the respondents and the
utilization of TBS.
Conclusions. Utilisation of TBS is quite popular among the studied
population because it is believed to be cheap, acceptable and
accessible to them and a high proportion of the respondents utilize
TBS notwithstanding that they live in a community where they
have better access to orthodox medical care. Influence from family
and friends is the main reason for consulting TBS. Regulations
should be made concerning the advertisement of TBS practice by
relevant agencies and the public should be made aware through
health education on the dangers of TBS treatment.