Traditional vs. Non-Traditional Healing for Minor and Major Morbidities in India: Uses, Cost and Quality Comparisons.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the cost and quality of care of traditional healing for short term morbidities and major morbidities in India and to compare them with the non-traditional healing.

METHODS: We used data from a nationally representative survey, the India Human Development Survey and descriptive as well as bi-variate analyses for the examination.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Use of traditional healing is much less common than use of nontraditional healing in both rural and urban areas and across all socio-economic and demographic characteristics; it is slightly more common in rural than urban areas for short term morbidities. Use of traditional healing is relatively more frequent for cataract (especially in rural areas), leprosy, asthma, polio, paralysis, epilepsy and mental illnesses; its total cost of care and mean waiting time are substantially lower than for nontraditional healing. Among patients who use both, a relatively higher proportion use traditional healing complemented by nontraditional healing for short-term illnesses, but vice versa for major morbidities. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.