Consumer Perceptions and Utilization Patterns of Traditional Medicine in Adamawa State, Nigeria

This study examined consumer perceptions and utilization patterns of traditional medicine in Adamawa State, Nigeria, with particular emphasis on the intensity of utilization and its socioeconomic and perceptual determinants. A cross-sectional survey design was employed, using primary data collected through a structured questionnaire. The survey covered 271 consumers, of whom 269 with previous experience of traditional medicine constituted the analytical sample for utilization-intensity analysis. Descriptive statistics, perception mean scores, ordered logistic regression and average marginal effects were employed. Traditional medicine utilization was categorized as rare, occasional and regular use. The findings revealed a high level of engagement with traditional medicine, with 47.6% of users reporting occasional use and 41.6% regular use, while only 10.8% reported rare use. Herbal practitioners constituted the dominant source of traditional medicine (71.7%), while perceived effectiveness (54.6%), recommendation (37.9%), accessibility (37.5%) and low cost (36.1%) were the major factors influencing consumers' choices. Consumer perceptions were generally favourable, with affordability recording the highest mean score (4.331), followed by effectiveness (4.297) and accessibility (4.230). The ordered logit results showed that age (β = 1.030, p < 0.001) and perceived knowledge of herbal practitioners (β = 0.433, p = 0.022) significantly increased the likelihood of higher utilization intensity, while gender, marital status, perceived effectiveness, affordability, safety, trust and accessibility were not independently significant. The marginal effects further indicated that a one-category increase in age increased the probability of regular utilization by 19.82 percentage points, while a one-point increase in perceived practitioner knowledge increased it by 8.33 percentage points. Despite generally favourable perceptions, consumers identified lack of scientific evidence, safety concerns, poor packaging and uncertain dosage as major challenges. The study concludes that traditional medicine is an important component of healthcare-seeking behaviour among the surveyed consumers, with utilization intensity particularly associated with age and perceived practitioner competence. Strengthening scientific validation, product standardization, dosage guidance, safety monitoring and practitioner training is therefore recommended to enhance consumer protection and support the safe integration of traditional medicine into the healthcare system.