Prevalence of Iatrogenesis in the Nigerian Healthcare Delivery System: A Conceptual Analysis

This paper examines the prevalence of social iatrogenesis as an umbrella word subsuming cultural, clinical and technological iatrogeneses in the Nigerian healthcare delivery system. The study takes into consideration the growing cases of perceived unintended or latent consequences among patients and medics while seeking or rendering healthcare services in many Nigerian hospitals. On the one hand, many health seekers have become victims of cultural iatrogenesis, particularly as it bothers on child swapping or baby switch, as well as conflict of faith and therapeutic regimen. On the other hand, many health workers, including medics, have been affected by clinical iatrogenesis measured by negligence, job stress, monetisation of health services, inadequate motivation, medicalization, prognosis and faulty diagnosis, and disregard for ethical standards. In addition to decades of inadequate funding of the Nigerian healthcare system, the prevalence of iatrogenic experiences among medics and patients has further exacerbated the dearth of trust and confidence in the orthodox medical practice among many Nigerians. The theory of unintended consequences by Robert Merton and the attribution theory by Palmieri and Petersons were utilised in providing a theoretical analysis to the prevalence of iatrogenesis. The paper bridged the gap between cultural and clinical iatrogenesis in explaining the importance of consent in therapeutic medicine; attributing the choice of undermining the consent of a patient at any stage in the therapeutic milieu as liable to social iatrogenesis.