Herbal Remedies or Conventional Medicines: How do Students Choose?
| dc.contributor.author | Wong, Kwan | |
| dc.contributor.author | Blum, Ilya | |
| dc.contributor.author | Mann, Linda | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2017-08-28T16:39:15Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2017-08-28T16:39:15Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2017 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Background: With the increasing popularity of herbal remedies, the objectives of this study are to investigate the interrelationships among knowledge, attitudes and usage; and to compare factors related to reliance on herbals versus conventional medicines by university students. Methods: University Ethics Review Board approved the study. The validated questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample of 318 students from randomly selected university classes in February 2001.Descriptive summaries of knowledge, attitude and usage were obtained and four indexes were compiled and inter-correlated. Characteristics of users and non-users of herbals were contrasted. Results: The participants were mostly female with an average age of 20.2 years. Most practiced a healthy lifestyle and were fairly satisfied with their present state of health. Both perceived and actual knowledge (modest to thorough) results were higher for conventional medicines than herbals. Ninety-eight percent of students use or have used conventional medicines as compared to 70% for herbals. Fifty-five percent of all respondents and 63% of current users of herbals indicated that they are more likely to use herbals in the future. Most supported integration of herbals with conventional medical care but 44% had no opinion on herbals having the same medical status as conventional medicines. Interpretation: A higher reliance on self-medication indicates students’ desire to take greater control of their own health care. A dramatic prediction for future use, along with an unwillingness to consult doctors and a low level of knowledge on herbal remedies, potentiates health hazards from dangerous side effects and adverse reactions. | en_US |
| dc.description.sponsorship | This project was made possible by an internal research grant from Mount Saint Vincent University. | en_US |
| dc.format.availability | Full-text | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10587/1835 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.subject | Herbal remedies | en_US |
| dc.subject | Integrative health care | en_US |
| dc.title | Herbal Remedies or Conventional Medicines: How do Students Choose? | en_US |
| dc.type | Article | en_US |