Herbal Use and Medical Pluralism Among Latinos in Southern California

Abstract

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is often used alongside conventional medical care, yet few patients disclose CAM use to medical doctors. Our objectives were to (1) assess Latino herbal use, (2) explore the most commonly used herbs for common ailments, and (3) examine patients' disclosure of herb use to their physicians. Self-administered questionnaires were collected from 318 Latino patients seeking treatment at community health centers. Descriptive statistical analysis was conducted to determine the frequency of stated objectives among the participants. Fisher's exact test was used to compare differences among CAM users and non-users. Most respondents (90%) reported using herbs. Less than a third (31%) of those herb users felt comfortable speaking English to their physician. A majority (74.8%) of the respondents utilizing herbs reported never disclosing their herbal use to their healthcare providers, and of those that did, majority (63%) were under the age of 36 years. Of those that disclosed their herbal use, only 31% perceived receiving a positive reaction about herbal use from their providers. Chamomile, cinnamon, Aloe vera, spearmint, and key lime were the top used herbs in this population. Herbal use disclosure reflects a greater sense of trust and communication between patient and provider. Therefore, a need exists to increase provider competency for patients using herbs in order to improve consistency of care and facilitate healthy patients and communities, especially among Spanish-speaking Latinos in Southern California.

Conventional and Complementary Therapy Use among Mexican Farmworkers in North Carolina: Applying the I-CAM-Q

“…Alternative therapies are widely used throughout Latin American countries, and among Latinx residents of the United States. Members of these populations often use several complementary therapies, as well as conventional health care, 17,23 indicating the strength of medical pluralism. 48 Mexican farmworkers in North Carolina widely used conventional health care providers in the previous 12 months.…”

“…13,14 Mexicans and Mexican Americans access a wide array of traditional healers and other complementary therapies. [15][16][17][18][19][20] Traditional healers include curanderos, sobadores, herbalists, and spiritual healers. 16,[21][22][23][24][25][26] Curanderos use a variety of approaches to healing that include physical treatments, spiritual healing and spiritualism, and psychic healing.…”

“…16 Complementary therapies include herbs, vitamins, over-the-counter (OTC) medicine (e.g., aspirin, antacid), and home remedies (e.g., common household products such as milk or chlorine bleach to treat illness or injury), as well as self-care practices (e.g., meditation, Yoga, relaxation techniques). Analyses have examined herb use among Mexican Americans, 17,[29][30][31] but few have examined vitamin, OTC medicine, home remedy use, or self-care practices in this population. 21,[32][33][34] Many Mexicans and Mexican Americans engage in medical pluralism, 35 combining the use of traditional healers and complementary therapies with the use of conventional medical care.…”

“…21,[32][33][34] Many Mexicans and Mexican Americans engage in medical pluralism, 35 combining the use of traditional healers and complementary therapies with the use of conventional medical care. 17,23,36,37 The concept of medical pluralism indicates that multiple models of health and illness exist in a society; these models have distinct health beliefs and treatment strategies: individuals choose among these models for health care based on such as cost, and health condition. 23,35 Several aspects of medical pluralism that include biomedical and traditional health beliefs have been studied in Latinx communities.…”

“…23,35 Several aspects of medical pluralism that include biomedical and traditional health beliefs have been studied in Latinx communities. 17,23,36,37 Because Mexican migrant and seasonal farmworkers experience high rates of injury and illness, have limited access to conventional medical care, and are familiar with traditional and complementary therapies, we expect that they use traditional and complementary therapies and engage in medical pluralism. However, little information is available about Mexican migrant and seasonal farmworkers' use of traditional healers and complementary therapies, or how they integrate their use of traditional healers and complementary therapies with their use of conventional medical care.…”