Demographic and disease profile of patients availing Traditional Medicine services in Bhutan: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: The study was conducted in 2019 and 2020 across 19 Traditional Medicine Units in Bhutan with the objective to assess the socio-demographic characteristics and disease patterns of patients seeking Traditional Medicine services. Method: This was a cross-sectional study and structured questionnaires were used for the interview. Data was gathered from 19 Traditional Medicine Units affiliated with 20-bedded hospitals. Disease diagnoses were recorded as per the Bhutan TM Disease Code. Results: A total of 1541 patients voluntarily participated in the survey. Of these, 950 (61.65%) were new patients, 946 were females (61.39%), 1514 (98.31%) were Bhutanese and 26 (1.96%) were non-Bhutanese. The majority of service recipients were farmers 873 (56.76%). The maximum visitors were from the eastern region (700, 45.43%) and the least was from the southern part of the country (88, 5.71%). The age range of participants spanned from 15 to 106 years, with a mean age of 43.75 (±16.32) years. Among the 56 different diseases documented during the survey, the highest prevalence was observed for tsakar (neurological disorder): 271 (16.76%), followed by phoney (gastrointestinal disorder): 180 (16.76%) and yama gosin (sinusitis): 139 (8.60%). Conclusion: The usage of Traditional Medicine is popular among all ages of Bhutanese citizens and international visitors. Tsakar and phoney disorders were the most common conditions requiring medical intervention.