Journal article
Characteristics of herbal medicine users among internal medicine patients: A cross-sectional analysis
Journal of Herbal Medicine, Vol.10, pp.59-63
2017
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Source: InCites
Abstract
•Herbal medicine utilisation is common among chronically ill patients admitted to integrative inpatient care in Germany.•The characteristics of herbal medicine users are consistent with those of complementary and alternative medicine users.•Almost one in two users indicated that herbal medicine was not helpful for their condition requiring further investigations.
Herbal medicine is among the most frequently used complementary medicines. This study aims to identify the socio-demographic and health-related predictors of herbal medicine utilisation among patients with chronic internal medicine conditions admitted to inpatient care.
Patients referred to a German integrative medicine clinic were asked whether they had ever used herbal medicine for their primary medical diagnosis, and whether they experienced benefits or harm. Socio-demographic characteristics, health behaviour, medical diagnosis, health status, mental health, satisfaction with health, and health locus of control were determined as potential predictors of herbal medicine use.
Of 2105 respondents, 41.9% reported herbal medicine use for their primary medical complaint, with 57.4% of them reporting perceived benefits and no harm due to use. Herbal medicine use was positively associated with female gender, at least high school education, a diagnosis of fibromyalgia, lung disease or sub-threshold depression, high internal health locus of control and avoidance of fast food, and was negatively associated with spinal pain. High satisfaction with life and high internal health locus of control were positively associated with perceiving herbal medicine as helpful. Whilst, being a smoker and diagnosed with headaches or irritable bowel syndrome had a negative association with the use of herbal medicine.
Herbal medicine utilisation among patients admitted to integrative inpatient care is common. While predictors of herbal medicine use appear to be in line with previous findings, there is a need for more in-depth examination of patients’ motivations for the use of herbal medicine to further the understanding of their health behaviours and needs.
Details
- Title
- Characteristics of herbal medicine users among internal medicine patients: A cross-sectional analysis
- Creators
- Matthew John Leach (Author) - University of South AustraliaRomy Lauche (Author) - University of Technology SydneyAnthony L Zhang (Author) - University of Technology SydneyHolger Cramer (Author) - University of Technology SydneyJon Adams (Author) - University of Technology SydneyJost Langhorst (Author) - University of Duisburg-EssenGustav Dobos (Author) - University of Duisburg-Essen
- Publication Details
- Journal of Herbal Medicine, Vol.10, pp.59-63
- Publisher
- Elsevier GmbH
- Identifiers
- 991012911997002368
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Health; National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article