Traditional Healthcare Delivery Systems and Participation in Community Development Activities Among the Etche People of Rivers State

The study explored how traditional healthcare practices are associated with community development participation among the Etche people of Rivers State. It was structured around three specific objectives, three research questions, and three null hypotheses. A correlational survey methodology was employed, drawing its theoretical foundation from Sherry Arnstein’s Community Participation Theory, with additional perspectives provided by Social Capital Theory and Health Belief Theory. The research covered 602 individuals comprising traditional healthcare providers and members of Community Development Committees (CDCs) residing across communities in Etche and Omuma Local Government Areas. Since the number of respondents was considered sufficiently manageable, the researchers adopted a census procedure and involved the complete population rather than selecting a sample. Information was obtained through two researcher-developed questionnaires, namely the “Traditional Healthcare Delivery Systems Questionnaire” (THDSQ) and the “Participation in Community Development Activities Questionnaire” (PCDAQ). The instruments underwent validation by three specialists with expertise in Measurement and Evaluation and Community Development. Their reliability was subsequently examined through Cronbach’s alpha, producing coefficients of 0.91 for traditional birth attendants, 0.82 for herbal healing, and 0.77 for divination/spiritual healing. Pearson Product-Moment Correlation (PPMC) was applied in determining answers to the research questions, whereas the hypotheses were evaluated using the t-test transformation of the PPMC at a 0.05 significance threshold. The analysis produced strong positive and statistically significant relationships for all three dimensions examined: traditional birth attendants and community development participation (r = 0.88), herbal healing and community development participation (r = 0.83), and divination/spiritual healing and community development participation (r = 0.85). In view of these outcomes, the study proposed that policymakers should give formal recognition to traditional birth attendants and involve them as partners in community development initiatives. It further recommended that government agencies and non-governmental organisations create programmes for preserving herbal-medicine knowledge while using such programmes to encourage community mobilisation, and that spiritual healers and diviners should be formally considered stakeholders in the formulation and implementation of community development plans.