African Plant Nutrition (Agri/Plant Science) | 27 January 2006
Sickle Cell Anemia Treatment through Traditional Medicine and Biochemical Analysis in Rural Communities of Zambia
C, h, i, l, e, s, h, e, M, u, l, e, n, g, a
Abstract
Sickle Cell Anemia (SCA) is a genetic disorder affecting millions of individuals worldwide, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. In Zambia, rural communities often rely on traditional medicine for treatment due to limited access to modern healthcare. A cross-sectional study was conducted in three randomly selected rural districts. Participants provided self-reported data on traditional medicine use and biochemical blood tests were performed to measure hemoglobin levels and other relevant markers. Among the 200 participants, approximately 45% reported using traditional remedies for SCA symptoms, with significant variations observed in hemoglobin A concentration among treatment groups compared to controls (p < 0.01). Traditional medicine use and biochemical markers provide promising insights into managing SCA symptoms but require further rigorous scientific validation. Further randomized controlled trials should be conducted to validate traditional remedies and establish standardised protocols for treating SCA in rural Zambia. Sickle Cell Anemia, Traditional Medicine, Biochemical Analysis, Rural Communities, Zambia Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p<em>i)=\beta</em>0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.