In Zimbabwe there are a lot of snake bite especially at the beginning of rain season. Many people lose lives due to delays mostly in seeking modern medicines. There is need to involve those in traditional medicine practice to come up with standardized care.
Over the past two years we have examined the impact of mobile technology among a sample of smallholder farmers and traders in Zimbabwe. One of our findings indicates the extent to which mobile phones have become so addictive in ways that undermine relationships and even potential income. If a poor farmer spends the equivalent of a goat to buy airtime monthly but cannot see the value of the information gained through calling or sms, it's difficult to conclude that mobile phones are beneficial. In most cases, those using mobile phones regularly have not moved out of poverty better than those
Taking a collective learning research approach could generate more useful insights on this important issue. The fragmentation of practical medical knowledge suggests we can generate more progress by looking at medical knowledge as a nested set rather than as a hierarchy. At the moment, medical practice is researched and presented as competition between modern medical health practices and traditional medical practices, with an expectation for modern medicine to win this 'Olympic' competition.
I don't know how we can go beyond journals. In addition to the fact that journals fulfil a limited need, many African health practitioners are too overwhelmed to seat down and write an article on their daily experiences & tie this with broad health literature. If we limit knowledge sharing to journals and their rigorous reviewing processes, we miss a lot of real-time 'truths'. Emphasis on journals suggest the written word is the only way knowledge about health issues can travel.
In my opinion, one other contributory factor could be the lack of information on the part of the patient. There are usually unaware of the likely complications of surgery and hence fail to identify these and seek medical attention on time.
The limited resources in terms of staff and facilities also puts pressure on the healthcare personal and they are unable to give information to the patients.
