Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Patients at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital Mental Health Unit

The use of complementary and alternative forms of treatment among patients attending Gulu Regional Referral Hospital Mental Health Unit | medRxiv Skip to main content Home About Submit ALERTS / RSS Search for this keyword Advanced Search The use of complementary and alternative forms of treatment among patients attending Gulu Regional Referral Hospital Mental Health Unit View ORCID Profile Badriku Kennedy , Avaga Dickens , View ORCID Profile Outa Paul , Muwanga Ronald , Mpamizo Emmanuel doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.16.26348548 Badriku Kennedy 1 Gulu University, Faculty of Medicine , Gulu, Uganda Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Badriku Kennedy For correspondence: kenbadriku{at}gmail.com Avaga Dickens 1 Gulu University, Faculty of Medicine , Gulu, Uganda Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Outa Paul 1 Gulu University, Faculty of Medicine , Gulu, Uganda Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Outa Paul Muwanga Ronald 1 Gulu University, Faculty of Medicine , Gulu, Uganda Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Mpamizo Emmanuel 2 Department of Mental Health, Gulu Regional Referral Hospital , Gulu, Uganda Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Abstract Full Text Info/History Metrics Data/Code Preview PDF ABSTRACT Background Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) contributes significantly to the utilization of healthcare services in mental health care in sub-Saharan Africa. However, there is limited evidence on the utilization of CAM in the particular setting of post-conflict northern Uganda. This study sought to establish the prevalence, forms, and socio-demographic determinants of CAM use among patients attending the Mental Health Unit at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital (GRRH). Methods This is a cross-sectional study conducted in a hospital setting from June to August 2025. Convenience sampling was employed to recruit 407 participants. A structured questionnaire was employed for data collection. Data analysis was done using STATA software version 18.0. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and bivariate analysis with Prevalence Ratios (PR) with 95% confidence intervals was employed to determine factors that are significantly associated with the use of CAM. Results The lifetime prevalence of CAM use was 63.4% (258/407), with 41.3% (168/407) using CAM currently. The most frequent CAM practices used were herbal medicine (50.4%), spiritual practices (33.7%), and traditional medicine (19.8%). For current users, spiritual practices were most frequent (88.7%). The reasons for using CAM were recommendations from others (84.8%) and cultural or religious beliefs (63.4%). Predictors of CAM use were primary education (PR = 1.36, p = 0.017), living in an urban area (PR = 1.23, p = 0.007), separated (PR = 1.39, p = 0.050), and having a mental health disorder for six or more months (PR range = 1.55-1.72). Catholics (PR = 0.72, p = 0.0007) and Protestants (PR = 0.76, p = 0.011) were less likely to use CAM than Born Again Christians. Conclusion The level of CAM use among patients accessing mental health services in GRRH of northern Uganda is significantly high, while the reporting of CAM use to healthcare providers is remarkably low. This is a challenge that requires urgent attention. Recommendations include integrating the use of CAM into medical practice, developing national policy guidelines on CAM, working in collaboration with traditional/spiritual healers, and conducting public education campaigns. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Funding Statement The publication was funded by the authors Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The research was approved by the Gulu University Research Ethics Committee (GUREC) and the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST). I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes Data Availability Yes, the data will be available on whenever required basis https://limewire.com/d/xm1zt#ZY5zdbzCFp Copyright The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license . Back to top Previous Next Posted March 19, 2026. Download PDF Data/Code Email Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about medRxiv. NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article. Your Email * Your Name * Send To * Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas. 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