scholarly journals Attitudes, Knowledge and Practice of Herbal Remedy Use among the Population Visiting Pharmacies and Health Care Providers in Alexandria, Egypt: A Cross-Sectional Study

Author(s):  
Hoda Fathy ◽  
Raghda El-Hawy ◽  
Raghda Hassan

Aims: To show the levels of awareness, attitude, practices and socioeconomic factors related to consuming herbal products among Alexandrian citizen visiting pharmacies. The findings of this study are meant also to show the practices and beliefs of healthcare providers regarding using herbal remedies in treatment, including advising patients, reporting adverse effects and possessing knowledge about specific herb-drug interactions. Study Design:  people visiting pharmacies as well as pharmacists in their pharmacies and physicians in their clinics were invited to complete a questionnaire about their knowledge and personal experience in the consumption of herbal remedy. Anonymity was guaranteed. Questionnaire consists of three parts: demographic data, personal experience and a part concerning health care providers. Place and Duration of Study: Study area is the city of Alexandria, Egypt from the 1st July through September 2018. Methodology: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study that used a self-administered, questionnaire from 213 participants (153+ 60 health care providers HCPs). Results: Almost half the respondents preferred to be treated with herbs because they believed that herbs are safe. But they are not the proper choice to cure chronic diseases. Only 25% of herb users recorded suffering from side effects. The most common source of information about herbs was via internet, followed by family and friends, television and other types of media. Herbal remedies were purchased mainly from outlets other than pharmacies. The willingness to buy such products was not affected by participants’ education level or their monthly income. The public didn’t feel it’s important to mention any herbal remedy they consume to their physician; similarly HCPs did not ask them. Generally, it was shown that HCPs have inadequate knowledge about herbs. Conclusion: The prevalence of herb usage is moderate among the Alexandrian population. And it is imperative to educate HCPs about the benefits, risks and interactions of herbal supplements.

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 582
Author(s):  
EmmanuelObiora Izuka ◽  
ObinnaChinedu Nwafor ◽  
JosephTochukwu Enebe ◽  
IfeanyichukwuJude Ofor ◽  
ChineloElizabeth Obiora-Izuka ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mansoor Ahmed ◽  
Hyea Bin Im ◽  
Jung Hye Hwang ◽  
Dongwoon Han

Abstract Background Pregnant women’s disclosure of herbal medicine (HM) use to their health care providers during pregnancy is crucial, as misuse of HM can have a detrimental effect on both pregnant woman and the fetus. However, the lack of disclosure of HM use to physicians remains a public health concern in developing countries such as Nepal. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 postpartum women admitted at Maternity and Women’s Hospital located in Kathmandu, Nepal. The survey instrument included 30 questions on the use of HM during pregnancy, sociodemographic and health characteristics, and pregnancy outcomes. Chi-square test and logistic regression were conducted for data analysis using SPSS ver. 21.0., and a p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant for all analyses. Results 60.3% of respondents used at least one herbal remedy during their previous pregnancy, and the overall disclosure rate of HM use to healthcare providers was 54.6%. Women with secondary education level and four or more antenatal care visits were more likely to disclose their HM use to healthcare providers. Conclusions This study highlights that despite the popular use of HM among pregnant women in Nepal, most women obtained HM-related information from informal sources and did not disclose their HM use to physicians. To ensure the safe use of HM, physicians should integrate questions regarding patients’ HM use into their routine patient assessments to facilitate active communication and improve the quality of care.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Asfaw Erku

Background.Today, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is being routinely practiced by cancer patients worldwide. This study aimed at examining the prevalence of CAM use in patients with cancer and comparing the quality of life (QoL) in CAM users and nonusers.Methods.A cross-sectional study was employed on 195 cancer patients receiving chemotherapy at Gondar University Referral Hospital (GURH) chemotherapy center. Interviewer-administered questionnaires were used and the collected data were analyzed by the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 21.0 for Windows.Results.154 (79%) patients were found to be users of CAM. Educational status, average monthly income, disease stage, and comorbidity were strong predictors of use of CAM. The most commonly utilized types of CAM were traditional herbal based medicine (72.1%) and only 20.8% of patients discuss with their doctors CAM use. No significant difference was found in QoL between CAM users and nonusers except in financial difficulties (p=0.020).Conclusions.This study revealed a high rate of CAM use with very low disclosure rate to their health care providers. Health care providers should be open to discuss the use of CAM with their patients as it will lead to better health outcome.


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