Traditional Medicine Practice: Attitude of Practitioners towards Marketing Principles and Impact on Patronage

Abstract

This study was to investigate the attitude of Traditional Medicine Practitioners (TMPs) towards the application of Marketing Principles to their practice. It was aimed at examining the influence of these marketing practices and the level of patronage of Traditional Medicine (TM). It was also aimed at determining the levels of satisfaction with the introduction of marketing on the side of consumers. The relationship between age, educational level, income and occupation of Traditional Medicine Practitioner (TMP) and consumers and promotional activities of Traditional Medicine (TM) was also established. A pre-tested and structured interview was used to elicit information from seventy (70) Traditional Medicine Practitioners. Also focus group discussion forum (FGD) was employed to source information from seventy (70) consumers of Traditional Medicine. Descriptive statistics such as frequency counts and percentages were used to analyze the data. Pearson’s correlation analysis was also used to establish the relationship between the variables. The study revealed that Traditional Medicine Practitioners and consumers had a positive attitude towards adoption of Marketing Principles such as branding, quality control and radio advertisement.  Marketing Principles, it was revealed have more than averagely influenced the attitude of consumers of Traditional Medicine. The study concluded that Traditional Medicine should collaborate with orthodox medicine and submit their products for quality, dosage, branding, and control to gain a wider acceptance especially among urban dwellers.

Keywords: Marketing, Attitude, Traditional Medicine