Introduction Holistic integrated community palliative care services remain a mirage to cancer patients. Nonetheless, a number of cancer patients are jamming traditional medicinal places seeking therapy. The results of these visits are undocumented. This study explored healthcare seeking behaviors and perspectives on cancer indigenous palliative care among patients visiting traditional health practitioners in Kenya. Methods A cross-sectional study was undertaken through client exit survey. Face to face interviews were conducted using semi-structured questionnaires with all consenting cancer patients exiting mapped outlets. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science Version 22.0. Results A total of 433 respondents were interviewed and the majority were female 59.6%, Christians 97.2%, married 89.8% and educated 85.7%. Their mean age was 48.25 ± 15. 58. Education, sex and religion were significantly associated with perceived improvement. The predominant cancer types were breast cancer (22.4%); throat (14.8%), prostate (12.9%), bone (12.5%), cervical (9.9%), stomach (6.0%) and skin cancer (5.1%). The most frequently used traditional medicine was herbal medicine that was driven by unresponsive conditions (42.2%), inaccessible biomedical services (18.8%) and yearning for second opinion (18%) over a condition. Seventy six percent of the respondents reported improved and prolonged quality of life. 78.2% reported improved eating, drinking, standing, walking and doing light duties alone. Patients felt healthier, hopeful, happier, confident and bonded to their families. Conclusions Use of indigenous palliative care is predominant to all major cancer conditions and driven by the quest for cure, successful stories, trustworthiness and beliefs, previous experience and avoiding medical procedures such as surgery.

Introduction: Quality of care is acknowledged as a critical facet of the unfinished maternal and newborn health agenda. Yet modalities of reorienting maternity services to respectful services are rare. This study investigated the effect of training health workers in cultural competence towards satisfaction with maternity service. Materials and Methods: This was a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial undertaken in public hospitals. The intervention was provision of culturally sensitive maternity services by health workers after cultural competence training. Three hundred and seventy nine women were interviewed per group using exit and mystery client surveys. The effect was measured using standard mean difference (Cohen’s d) and t-test. Results: There was significant effect on satisfaction with provided information on delivery methods (F (1, 756) = 11.493, p < 0.001, ηp2 = .049). The mean of intervention group increased from 3.55 ±1.056 to 3.94, ±0.894 while the control changed from 3.57±1.187 to 3.62 ± 1.149. The mean changes tweaked the group variance from insignificant t (725) =0.290, p = 0.771 to significant t (713) =-4.336 p <0.001. Conclusion: Cultural competence training is effective in creating room for desired maternal needs and improving perceived satisfaction with maternity services. Consequently, there is a need to integrate cultural knowledge and skills into existing maternal policies and training.

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