Outcomes of Indigenous Remedies: An Ethnographic Study of Local Healthcare Practices in Basti Jannu, Tehsil Kot Addu, Punjab

Abstract

The “outcomes of indigenous remedies” are the result of three months of fieldwork that investigates the outcomes of local healing practices in comparison to accessible modern health resources. The contrast between modern vs. local health systems, as well as the govt. health system and private modern health systems in Basti Jannu Tehsil Kot Addu in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. During this research, I interacted with the locals of Basti Jannu, practitioners of traditional healing methods, and patients with various conditions who were cured or had negative outcomes after utilizing traditional healing methods. I also spoke with government health officials at the govt hospital, which serves as a Tehsil head quarter hospital for the city of Kot Addu, as well as doctors from private clinics, & homeopaths and hakim. The study's main point is what the consequences of traditional healing methods are in comparison to contemporary drugs, government health facilities, and behavior. A qualitative research methodology was used for this ethnographic study. Various sampling methods were used. Males were chosen using the convenient sample method, while females were chosen using the snowball sampling approach, and health experts, including doctor’s homeopath and hakim, were chosen using the purposive sampling strategy. To clarify the research concerns, qualitative approaches such as participant observation, informal discussions, key informant interviews, case studies, and in-depth interviews were performed. A significant proportion of people in Basti Jannu depended on traditional healing methods. As a result, it was discovered that traditional healing practices provide alleviation for the majority of people suffering from seasonal and sometimes chronic ailments. Traditional approaches to health are accountable for a variety of variables. The government's supply of healthcare services was inadequate. The political economy of health, which includes awareness, poverty, knowledge about health, health rights, belief system, and cultural beliefs, has had a significant impact on the locals. Religious belief stereotypes among people for contemporary medications have had a significant impact on the ordinary man's mentality. The behavior of healthcare workers at government hospitals is not as good as it is in private clinics. There is an organizational and cultural barrier between the people of Basti Jannu and the government health facilities. Power-based relationships between locals and patients prevent the provision of health services in hospitals, including medical tests and drugs, for which some individuals accuse corrupt workers in government health institutions. Relations between these two groups are also weak. The biggest impediment to believing contemporary health practices was poverty, the political economy of health, and communities' positive belief in traditional treatments. poverty with political economy, cultural values, the Belief system Geographic, health-seeking priorities, and a lack of confidence in modern medicine, as well as a lack of trust in government health institutions, are among the sectors of Basti Jannu, prompting them to rely on traditional health practices to cure all ailments.