The Weight of Traditional Therapy in The Management of Chronic Skin Diseases in Donka National Hospital

Abstract

Chronic skin diseases affect patients’ physical, psychological and social well-being. They lead patients to seek care in conventional and traditional medicine. The aim of this study was to determine the contributions of traditional therapists in the management of patients with chronic skin diseases attending the Donka National Hospital. We have conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study from 10 January 2021 to 15 August 2023 in the Dermatology – STD Department of the Donka National Hospital. We considered a chronic skin disease to be one in which the duration of the disease is greater than or equal to 3 months, with repercussions on the daily life of the patient and/or those around him. Recruitment was exhaustive. A questionnaire was designed for this purpose. The Patient Global Impression Improvement Scale (PGI-I) was used to assess response to treatment. The contribution was considered positive if the patient had been referred by the traditional therapist to the specialist centre. Fifty-three of the 1011 patients suffering from chronic skin diseases were included, i.e. 9.23%. The mean age of the patients was 35.94 years, ranging from 5 to 80 years. The male/female sex ratio of patients was 0.70. Chronic skin diseases were autoimmune in 37.70% of cases. Only 17% of patients had been referred to a dermatologist by their traditional therapist, with good improvement noted in 37% of cases. This positive contribution needs to be reinforced by setting up a formal framework for collaboration between traditional and conventional medicine.