COVID-19 and herbal practice: A United Kingdom practitioner survey

Abstract

Objectives To identify the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on UK herbal medicine practice and how herbal medicine practitioners are supporting people with Covid-19. Design Mixed-methods e-survey. Methods The survey link was distributed through professional associations and social media. Quantitative data were descriptively summarised and qualitative data were analysed using content analysis. Results Results from 59 responses indicated a profound effect of the pandemic on herbal medicine practice, with a move to remote working and a reduction in client numbers. Practitioners reported prescribing a wide range of medicinal plants, chiefly Glycyrrhiza glabra L. and Echinacea spp. alongside providing information and advice. Few reported inter-professional collaboration. Conclusions Herbal practitioners need to build on current collaborations, research and experience to develop consistent approaches to support people with mild-moderate Covid-19 symptoms. More systematic exploration of herbal medicine practice during and as a consequence of the pandemic is needed. What is already known about the topic The Covid-19 pandemic has had a large impact on all types of healthcare The impact on herbal medicine practice is unclear What this paper adds The Covid-19 pandemic has substantially affected UK herbal medicine practice A wide range of medicinal plants are currently used by herbal practitioners to support people with Covid-19 Herbal practitioners need to develop consistent holistic approaches to support people with mild-moderate symptoms of Covid-19

Phytotherapy and Dietotherapy of COVID-19—An Online Survey Results from Central Part of Balkan Peninsula

“…Dietary supplements used by the respondents reported in this research ( Table 7 ) were also frequently reported by other research [ 20 , 22 , 25 , 26 , 35 ].…”

“…Some studies compared the use of dietary supplements (both herbal and non-herbal) before and during the declared pandemic of COVID-19, and it was found that the use of these supplements increased [ 25 ]. Herbal practitioners in the United Kingdom also reported an increase in the number of patients interested in herbal therapy of COVID-19 [ 35 ]. Finally, COVID-19 was not the only reason for herbal therapy—42.50% of persons using phytotherapy against COVID-19 were also using it in the prevention or treatment of other diseases and conditions.…”

Practicing traditional Chinese medicine in the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland – an exploratory study

“…As in our study, these healthcare professionals predominantly used distant consultations to consult during the semi-lockdown; the main method of communication for most of these professionals in Spring 2020 in Switzerland being the telephone, as well as emails and videoconference [ 6 – 8 , 10 ]. The use of distant consultations has been observed worldwide among healthcare providers during the pandemic [ 26 – 28 ], including among CAM providers [ 24 , 25 ]. Home visits were also often conducted by our respondents even if the practice was open.…”

“…Although a fair amount of studies on the management of COVID-19 with TCM, only a few assessed the use of CAM in relation to COVID-19 in Europe [ 23 ] or the impact of the legal restrictions on providers [ 24 , 25 ], and to our knowledge, none focused on TCM specifically. Therefore, and given that legal restrictions in Switzerland may have affected TCM providers differently, we aimed to assess the proportion of TCM physicians and TCM therapists who consulted patients with respect to COVID-19 in Switzerland from March to September 2020, as well as the extent to which COVID-19 affected their practices during the same period.…”

Integrative health needs to engage with effective public health interventions on merit, not oppose them on them on principle

“…As we near the end of the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of traditional, complementary and integrative health (TCIH) on COVID-19, and the impact of COVID-19 on TCIH, has been a focus of the journal. In this issue alone, we have multiple articles examining the way that TCIH practitioners and practices have adapted and evolved to meet the challenges of the pandemic [33] , [34] , [35] . Last year we published a special issue which included a series of articles examining the evidence for the potential role of traditional, complementary and integrative treatments in addressing COVID-19 [1] , [2] , [3] , [4] , [5] , [6] , [7] , [8] , [9] , [10] , [11] , as well as a guide to assist others critically appraise future studies of TCIM interventions [12] .…”