• Eugene Musiiwa Makhavhu, Mmajapi Elizabeth Masala-Chokwe, and Tendani Sara Ramukumba.
• Nursing Science Department, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Pretoria, South Africa.
• Afr Health Sci. 2024 Mar 1; 24 (1): 262268262-268.

IntroductionIt may be necessary for healthcare professionals to refer patients to other professionals and institutions that are able to provide the care needed by patients, depending on the severity each case presents, healthcare requirements, and resources available to offer care. In healthcare generally, patient referral is standard procedure; however, in South Africa, referral patterns between allopathic and traditional healthcare practitioners are unknown, and this is a problem yet to be addressed.ObjectivesThe study objective was to explore patient referral practices from the perspectives of traditional healthcare practitioners of South Africa.MethodsA qualitative, exploratory and descriptive design was employed to collect data from 11 traditional healthcare practitioners who were sampled using snowball sampling. An individual semi structured interview schedule was used to collect data. Content analysis was used to analyze the data.ResultsPatient referral was common practice in traditional health practices, however not reciprocal between the traditional and allopathic healthcare. Several indications for patient referral to allopathic healthcare practitioners included management of chronic conditions amongst others.DiscussionPatient referral being an important part of healthcare practices should be promoted and regulation and traditional health practices improved to promote safe referral practices and curb unsafe self-referrals by patients.© 2024 Makhavhu EM et al.

18 keywords...

hide…