Research have shown that knowledge and information on herbal medical practice is usually convey from one generation to another generation through documents, folktales, oral tradition, books or record keeping, brainstorming, internet, tape record, television show and video record. The importance of information accessibility, knowledge acquisition, and management and transfer system among indigenous people cannot be over emphasized. Ibegwan (2013) opined that information need for herbal medical practitioners has three components. These are: information that is needed for decision making and that is already known by the health professional which is referred to as currently satisfied needs. The second component is the information that is known to the health professional but that he/she recognizes it as being applicable to the decision making process. This refers to consciously recognized needs. The third component is the information that is important to the circumstances at hand but the health professional does not realize that it is applicable. This is referred to as unrecognized needs.
Traditional medical practitioners need information on how to acquire raw materials to be used for preparation of their traditional medicine and on how these knowledge will be transferred to their descendants; however many of the indigenous traditional medical practitioners in South West Nigeria are faced with problem of accessibility and acquisition of raw materials for the product of their traditional herbal medicine which they are to eventually transfer to their children. Traditional herbal medical practitioners in South West need more knowledge on how to transfer their skills to succeeding generation. Herbal medical practitioners are the people who deal with ancient and cultural based health care. They believe in treating series of diseases in traditional ways through the use of various herbs as laid down by their forefathers. This knowledge is transmitted mostly through the words of mouth by the elders in the community from generation to upcoming generation.
Traditional herbal medical practitioners according (Lemu, 2013) are the people who look at indigenous knowledge as the construction of reality and wish to lead the way of life and dwell in their environment. However, traditional herbal medical practitioners in South West Nigeria need more knowledge on how to transfer their skills to succeeding generations. However, they lack access to knowledge acquisition and management of their activities (Lemu, 2013). Aboyade, Ajayi and Asubiojo (2012) noted that factors which stimulated the acknowledgement of those involved in health care of patients have a set of right and responsibilities to be given a clear explanation of any treatment.
Information accessibility is a method of retrieving series of recorded information to solve health problems. It could be accessed from a book, oral tradition (words of mouth) or electronic resources, folklores, documents, files and through story telling. Erik (2011) posited in his study that the way in which local television news operates in the media markets are making information accessible and structuring interactive experiences in industry transitions into generations. Moreover, Oguntade and Ibegwan (2011) posited that all the information specialists on health verifying, understanding and meeting the information needs of the health workforce. This is to ensure evidence based health care and ensure professional job satisfaction as part of a broader supportive environment of those values and motives of the health practitioners. Other ways of meeting the information needs of herbal medical practitioners include the provision of training in information utilization skills to the health care provider including the retrieval, critical appraisal, synthesis and opportunities for personal and group study in the library to support learning from peers, continuing education and professional development.
Moreover, information accessibility enriches traditional herbal medical practitioners because it is through it that more information on: traditional medicine, series and of herb and diseases it cures are obtainable. More so, access to information on traditional herbal medical practitioners will promote the practice, motivating the practitioners and so also invite more people to have interest in the practice which will in turn lead to recognition of traditional medicine in curing series of disease in the community. Guarantee to fore father’s documentation are able through information accessibility. The information is accessed through many means which include: association meetings, notebooks, files, community leaders, brain storming, story- telling, tape record, television and Information Communication Technology. Therefore, information accessibility by traditional herbal medical practitioners is undertaken to ensure knowledge acquisition, knowledge management and knowledge transfer system.
However, it is only when information is accessible that knowledge acquisition can be enhanced by the practitioners.
Acquisition is defined as obtaining or getting one,s own exertions or qualities (New Oxford Dictionary( 2010).In this context acquisition implies the process of obtaining information materials for knowledge. Acquisition of knowledge by traditional herbal medical practitioners could be male, female, old and young practitioners. Knowledge acquisition to traditional herbal medical practitioners is a method of learning how to acquire traditional practices as laid down by the forefathers, so, that the longevity would continue and pass to the succeeding generations. However, according to McNamara, Danielle and Walter (2006), knowledge acquisition is integrally tied to how the mind organized the fundamental properties of human knowledge, as well as by considering the function of the desired information. The activities in acquisition of knowledge include: brain storming through association meetings, reading and learning from association meetings, record books, checking files of information sources, storytelling, teaching and learning, tape records, television, oral communication and information communication technology. More so, indigenous traditional knowledge resources are not like conventional resources that can easily be obtained from the market because their acquisition is always defined by the practices and structures within the culture that produce them. Often, traditional knowledge is acquired from membership of the culture. Dei, et’al (2012) posited that the precondition usually attached to the acquisition of traditional knowledge is often respect and recognition of the value of the practices in the culture. Traditional knowledge is handed dowm from one generation to another through symbols, art, oral narratives, story telling, wise sayings, riddles and dances. It has been observed that, this pattern operates among traditional herbal medical practitioners.
