PROCEDURE AND SEARCH SKILLS USED BY TRADITIONAL MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS IN RETRIEVING INFORMATION FOR TRADITIONAL MEDICINE IN NIGERIA

The present research aims to indentify the Procedure and Search Skills Used by Traditional Medical Practitioners in Retrieving Information for Traditional Medicine in Nigeria. The study used a purposive sampling technique, specifically convenience sampling to select participants and unstructured interview was used to collect data from the participants. The findings from the study indicated that the procedures and search skills used by the traditional medical practitioners included visiting bushes, plucking of leaves, uprooting relevant plants for their stems and roots, cutting trees, and peeling of tree skins as primary aspect of the procedure while the secondary Procedure covers washing, cleaning, drying, chopping, pounding, packaging and preserving. The skills developed and used for medical information retrieval by traditional medical practitioners in included being loyal, visiting senior scholars or colleagues for explanations on issues proving difficult, there was no formal information retrieval skills developed by the practitioners. In conclusion, documenting traditional medical knowledge was considered the most important factor that would encourage patronizes to use the medicine and the ascendants’ of the traditional medical practitioners to continue with the practice. It was therefore recommended that in order to improve the use of traditional medicine and its heritage there is the need for proper documentation.