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CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Medical pluralism and livestock health: ethnomedical and biomedical veterinary knowledge among East African agropastoralists
Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine, Vol.13(1), pp.7-7
01/21/2017
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/110540
PMCID: PMC5251319
PMID: 28109305
Abstract
Background: Human and animal health are deeply intertwined in livestock dependent areas. Livestock health contributes to food security and can influence human health through the transmission of zoonotic diseases. In low-income countries diagnosis and treatment of livestock diseases is often carried out by household members who draw upon both ethnoveterinary medicine (EVM) and contemporary veterinary biomedicine (VB). Expertise in these knowledge bases, along with their coexistence, informs treatment and thus ultimately impacts animal and human health. The aim of the current study was to determine how socio-cultural and ecological differences within and between two livestock-keeping populations, the Maasai of northern Tanzania and Koore of southwest Ethiopia, impact expertise in EVM and VB and coexistence of the two knowledge bases. Methods: An ethnoveterinary research project was conducted to examine dimensions of EVM and VB knowledge among the Maasai (N = 142 households) and the Koore (N = 100). Cultural consensus methods were used to quantify expertise and the level of agreement on EVM and VB knowledge. Ordinary least squares regression was used to model patterns of expertise and consensus across groups and to examine associations between knowledge and demographic/sociocultural attributes. Results: Maasai and Koore informants displayed high consensus on EVM but only the Koore displayed consensus on VB knowledge. EVM expertise in the Koore varied across gender, herd size, and level of VB expertise. EVM expertise was highest in the Maasai but was only associated with age. The only factor associated with VB expertise was EVM expertise in the Koore.
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Details
- Title
- Medical pluralism and livestock health: ethnomedical and biomedical veterinary knowledge among East African agropastoralists
- Creators
- Mark A Caudell - Pullman, WA USAMarsha B Quinlan - Pullman, WA USARobert J Quinlan - Pullman, WA USADouglas R Call - Pullman, WA USA
- Publication Details
- Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine, Vol.13(1), pp.7-7
- Academic Unit
- Anthropology, Department of; Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health
- Publisher
- BioMed Central; London
- Grant note
- 1216040 / ;
- Identifiers
- 99900547377301842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article