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

Abstract

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.

Comparison Between Healthcare Professionals And The General Population On Parameters Related To Natural Remedies Used During The COVID-19 Pandemic

“…However, the overall comparison found that the GP had better knowledge than HCWs about herbal medicine regarding their use during the COVID-19 as immune-boosting but not protective agents. In line with this nding, several studies reported that HCWs need further education and training on herbal medicine to improve their knowledge (Hilal and Hilal, 2017;Kemper et al, 2003;Sherif et al, 2019). The explanation of the GP's good knowledge in the current study could be that the GP continued looking for natural immune-boosting agents to protect themselves against the coronavirus infection during the pandemic, and the in uence of cultural beliefs on Islamic and traditional medicine in Saudi Arabia.…”

“…On the other hand, several studies not related to the pandemic found that HCWs expressed the need for further education regarding herbal use (Hilal and Hilal, 2017;Sherif et al, 2019). However, to the best of our knowledge, no study has compared the knowledge and attitude of GP and HCWs towards herbal therapy.…”

Comparison Between Healthcare Professionals and the General Population on Parameters Related to Natural Remedies Used During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…A questionnaire was developed in accordance with previously published studies 5 , 22 , 27 , 39 to assess the level of knowledge about the use of herbs and natural product as protective measures during the COVID-19 pandemic of the GP and HCWs. The questionnaire was reviewed by four individuals who were experts in medical immunology, family medicine, preventive medicine, and clinical nutrition to evaluate its appropriateness and adequacy.…”

“…Several studies not related to the pandemic found HCWs expressed a need for further education regarding the use of herbal medicine. 17 , 27 However, to the best of our knowledge, no study has compared the knowledge about and attitude toward herbal medicine between the GP and HCWs. Therefore, the current study aimed to compare the knowledge about and attitude toward the use of herbs and natural products as a protective measure during the COVID-19 pandemic between HCWs and the GP in Saudi Arabia.…”

Reasons to Development of Assistant Pharmacists’ Competences for Quality Patient Consulting in Polypharmacy Cases

“…Although, herbal medicine side effects were reported by 25% of herbal medicine user. Most of respondents did not inform practitioner about use of herbal medicine and HCP did not ask, as they lack knowledge about medicinal plants (Fathy et al, 2019). On the account of men being less inclined to search for information HCP should be more proactive in consulting them about safe use of medicine.…”