[Traditional medicine in Ethiopia in childhood diseases]

Parents of 100 paediatric patients hospitalized in the Gondar College of Medical Sciences were interviewed on their knowledge of and experience with indigenous medicine in the region. The result has provided an orienting review of methods used for common childhood disorders and attitudes towards traditional and modern medicine, resp. and some understanding of ideas of the rural population on the "etiology" of some diseases. Among the methods some are dangerous. Traditional medicine is the primary (and often the only) source of health care for major parts of the population in developing countries. Some knowledge of this system is also necessary for modern style medical staff working in such regions for a variety of reasons. Some of these aspects are discussed.