Prevalence and Correlates of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use among Hypertensive Patients in Gondar Town, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies are being widely used by hypertensive patients worldwide. However, evidences regarding CAM use by hypertensive patients in Ethiopia are limited. This study aimed at assessing prevalence and correlates of CAM use among hypertensive patients attending ambulatory clinic at Gondar University Referral Hospital (GURH), Ethiopia. Methods. A cross-sectional study was employed on 423 patients visiting GURH. Descriptive statistics and bivariate and multivariate logistic regression tools were used to analyze/come up with the prevalence and correlates of CAM use. Results. The prevalence of CAM use in our study was found to be 67.8% and herbal based medicine was the most commonly utilized CAM therapies. Majority of CAM users (70.2%) did not disclose CAM use for their physician. However, nearly half of CAM users (48.4%) were satisfied with the result of CAM use. Conclusions. The higher prevalence of CAM use among hypertensive patients coupled with a very low disclosure rate to their health care providers can have a marked potential to cause ineffective hypertensive management and adverse effects due to CAM use. Health care providers should be open to discussing the use of CAM with their patients as it will lead to better health outcome.

Prevalence and correlates of herbal medicine use among type 2 diabetic patients in Teaching Hospital in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

“…All ≥18 years old adult patients diagnosed with T2DM for at least 1 year prior to recruitment were taken as our source populations, while those patients who visited diabetes illness follow-up care clinic of UOGCSH to check blood sugar and refill medications during the data collection period were considered as a study population. Single population proportion formula was used with the assumption of 95% confidence interval, 5% margin of error, 72.3% prevalence [ 15 – 17 ] of herbal medicine use and 5% contingency for possible non-respondents. Considering the above points, the final sample size was determined to be 408.…”

“…Those collectors were properly trained on the instrument and ways of approaching the patients. The questionnaire was prepared via appropriate modification of items in previously used instruments regarding herbal medicine use by T2DM patients [ 12 , 16 , 17 ] and items were thoroughly reviewed for relevance by all the authors. The questionnaire, first prepared in English, was then translated to Amharic language (local language) and back to English so as to ensure that the translated version gives the proper meaning.…”

“…In Ethiopia, the use of traditional herbal medicine has not been only common rather it’s also culturally acknowledged [ 15 ]. Nevertheless, the use of traditional herbal medicine in the general population and patients with chronic medical conditions like cancer and hypertension was well studied across different regions of Ethiopia [ 15 – 17 ], literatures on the prevalence and correlates of herbal medicine use among Ethiopian diabetes patients is lacking. Therefore, the present study was aimed to investigate the prevalence and factors associated with herbal medicine use among T2DM patients who attended the diabetes illness follow-up care clinic of UOGCSH, Gondar, Ethiopia.…”

Traditional, complementary and alternative medicine use in Sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review

“…97 TCAM users among patients with HIV/AIDS Patients with HIV/AIDS who identified as a TCAM user in a number of studies across Sub-Saharan Africa were more likely to be female, 21 168 178-180 not married, 180 181 of low socioeconomic status, 21 180 younger (<39 years), 25 179 180 unemployed, 180 181 educated, 21 25 from a rural area 21 53 and of Christian religious denomination. 180 TCAM users among patients with hypertension and diabetes A review of the literature indicates that patients with hypertension who are male, 33 39 46 of low income level, 33 39 less educated, 33 older 106 and reside in rural area 33 are more likely to be TCAM users. A Ugandan study did not BMJ Global Health find any significant association between the sociodemographic profile of patients with hypertension and TCAM use.…”

“…A similar finding was reported in a population-based study in Ethiopia. 49 Also, lack of patient belief in the safety and efficacy of TCAM was identified as a barrier to TCAM use in studies conducted among patients with hypertension, 33 pregnant women 88 and patients with various health conditions, 192 as well as in the general population. 49 In addition, two population-based studies 48 189 and a subhealth study 192 reported that respondents were reluctant to use traditional medical care due to the perceived demonic nature of TCAM.…”