Title
Siddha KAP in rural Nanjanadu, Nilgiris, India: A cross-sectional study
Authors
Sharmila Gnanasekaran*, Jeyaradha Kandhaiah, Christian Gnanaraj Johnson, Elansekaran Selladurai, Ramamurthy Murugan, Srinivasan Venkatachalam, Gayatri Raveendran & Shakthi Paargavi Ambalavanan
Affiliation
Department of Noi Naadal, National Institute of Siddha, Affiliated to the Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University, Tambaram Sanatorium, Chennai-47, Tamil Nadu, India; *Corresponding author
Sharmila Gnanasekaran - E-mail:
sharmila1121995@gmail.com
Jeyaradha Kandhaiah - E-mail: drjeyaradhakandhaiah@gmail.com
Christian Gnanaraj Johnson - E-mail: gj.christian.nis@gov.in
Elansekaran Selladurai - E-mail: s.elansekaran.nis@gov.in
Ramamurthy Murugan - E-mail: m.ramamurthy.nis@gov.in
Srinivasan Venkatachalam - E-mail: v.srinivasan.nis@gov.in
Gayatri Raveendran - E-mail: r.gayatri.nis@gov.in
Shakthi Paargavi Ambalavanan - E-mail: shakthi.paargavi.nis@gov.in
Article Type
Research Article
Date
Received August 1, 2026; Revised August 31, 2026; Accepted August 31, 2026, Published August 31, 2026
Abstract
Underutilization of Siddha services within primary healthcare persists in Tamil Nadu, India even as childbirth, postpartum and other traditional practices remain informally maintained in rural communities. A knowledge, attitude, practice study in Nanjanadu, Nilgiris district of Tamilnadu identified high awareness of Siddha medicine but low knowledge of (Public health center) PHC-based Siddha services and poor participation in outreach camps. Despite this, community members continued to depend on traditional bone-setters for fractures and resorted to Siddha remedies during epidemic or outbreak situations. These patterns suggest a clear mismatch between community trust in Siddha and its organized delivery through government health facilities, resulting in missed opportunities for systematic, equitable access to care. Thus, data shows that improving PHC integration, targeted outreach, media based awareness and standardized practice guidelines are critical to convert cultural acceptance of Siddha into accessible, regulated services for rural populations.
Keywords
Siddha medicine, personalised medicine, knowledge, attitude, practice (KAP) survey, Nanjanadu, Tamil Nadu policy
Citation
Gnanasekaran et al. Bioinformation 22(8): 5214-5224 (2026)
Edited by
P Kangueane
ISSN
0973-2063
Publisher
License
This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
