Afya Jumuishi : towards Interprofessional collaboration between traditional and modern medical practitioners in the Mara Region of Tanzania

Abstract

A

scientific correlational study on human resource and organisational

policy-oriented study, which was conducted in the Mara Region of Tanzania. It

specifically investigates major factors, which correlate to interprofessional collaborative behaviours in the context of health service delivery between traditional and modern medical practitioners. Interprofessional collaboration is a sine qua non stage towards fully integrated health care encapsulated in a coined Swahili concept of afya jumuishi. The sample population in this study includes medical practitioners from both Modern Medicine (MM) and Traditional Medicine (TM) systems in the Mara Region. The operationalisation of the concept of interprofessional collaboration as used in the analytical model of this study follows the definition by the ‘Centre for Advancement of Collaborative Strategies in Health’ (2003), which defines it as behavioural patterns as part of synergy formation among different professionals. Such behavioural patterns have two interrelated components of dependent factors which include: the behavioural patterns of sharing resources; and - the behavioural patterns of working jointly for clients. The analytical model used is based on Slikkerveer (1990) which is built up on seven blocks of variables. These variables are independent variables, which include socio-demographic, psycho-social, enabling, trustworthiness, organisational and intervening variables as well as the dependent variables which include collaborative behavioural patterns of exchange of resources and collaborative behavioural patterns of working jointly for clients and patients. The general major challenges of the Twenty-First Century facing Traditional Medicine (TM) in the country include: - Lack of enabling environment towards Traditional Medicine (TM); - Absence of a mechanism, which promotes integration between modern and Traditional Medicine (TM); - Weak protection of indigenous intellectual property rights and unsustainable harvesting of medicinal plants; - Dwindling of natural resources; - Lack of indigenous information system and reliable data bank; - The need to carry out education, research and development on Traditional Medicine (TM); - The problem of safety of products of Traditional Medicine (TM); contextualization of the world’s eligions on teachings about Traditional Medicine (TM); - Moral degradation and the breaking of social structures;- Shocking poverty in the society.