Table 2.
Knowledge, opinion, and practice regarding TMs among the 270 respondents.
| Variables and classes | N (%) | Use of TMs in the last 12 months (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Uses medicinal herbs (sometimes)§,∗ | 231 (86) | |
| Used herbs the last 12 months | 177 (66) | |
| Used herbs for health promotion§ | 147 (54) | |
| Used herbs for disease prevention§ | 94 (34) | |
| Used herbs as cure for illness§ | 98 (36) | |
| Knowledge of herbs* | ||
| None | 12 (4.4) | 2 (8.3) |
| 1–3 plant species | 94 (35) | 48 (51) |
| >3 plant species | 164 (61) | 127 (77) |
| Received information on herbs | ||
| None | 76 (28) | 34 (45) |
| From family | 150 (56) | 116 (77) |
| From friends, colleagues, neighbors | 32 (12) | 20 (63) |
| From books | 3 (1) | 2 (67) |
| Illness last 12 months | ||
| Yes | 174 (64) | 127 (73) |
| No | 96 (36) | 50 (52) |
| Duration of illness (n = 174)§ | ||
| Acute | 118 (68) | 86 (73) |
| Chronic | 58 (33) | 43 (74) |
| Type of illness (n = 174)§,∗∗ | ||
| Cold, influenza, cough | 76 (44) | 54 (71) |
| Fever | 20 (11) | 14 (70) |
| Hypertension | 17 (10) | 14 (82) |
| Arthritis, rheuma, joint pains, hernia |
17 (10) | 6 (35) |
| Headache, migraine | 15 (9) | 11 (73) |
| Stomach/intestinal problems | 16 (9) | 10 (63) |
| Diabetes | 14 (8) | 9 (64) |
| Skin problems, wounds, rash | 9 (5) | 3 (33) |
| Menstruation, uterus problems | 6 (3) | 6 (100) |
| Mental and spiritual health | 6 (3) | 4 (67) |
| Injuries, fractures | 5 (3) | 4 (80) |
| Urinary tract problems (incl. STDs) | 5 (3) | 4 (80) |
| Other | 35 (20) | 24 (69) |
| Action patient (n = 174)§,∗∗ | ||
| Doctor | 116 (81) | 75 (65) |
| Herbal medicine | 76 (44) | 76 (44) |
| Prescription medicine | 52 (30) | 38 (73) |
| Herbs + prescription medicine | 38 (22) | 38 (100) |
| Religious activities | 18 (7) | 12 (67) |
| Traditional healer | 5 (3) | 5 (100) |
| Other (diet, rest, nothing) | 27 (16) | 11 (41) |
| Sends plants to The Netherlands | ||
| Never | 199 (74) | 121 (61) |
| Sometimes | 59 (22) | 44 (75) |
| Regularly | 12 (4) | 12 (100) |
| Sources of herbs (n = 231)§,∗∗ | ||
| Own garden or surroundings | 117 (51) | 90 (77) |
| Family, friends | 65 (28) | 58 (89) |
| Market, shop | 55 (24) | 44 (80) |
| Interior of Suriname | 30 (13) | 26 (87) |
| Traditional healer | 9 (4) | 6 (67) |
| Motives for medicinal plant use (n = 213)§,∗∗ | ||
| Accustomed to using herbs | 92 (40) | 76 (83) |
| Plants work better than pills | 71 (31) | 54 (76) |
| Herbs are safe | 51 (22) | 39 (76) |
| Less side effects | 52 (23) | 42 (81) |
| Doctor or pills cannot cure my illness |
33 (14) | 17 (52) |
| Other (e.g., cheaper, easy access) | 27 (12) | 20 (74) |
| Knows traditional healer | ||
| No | 178 (66) | 111 (62) |
| Yes | 92 (34) | 66 (72) |
| Quality of traditional healers | ||
| Good | 125 (46) | 86 (69) |
| Depends on healer and illness | 108 (40) | 73 (68) |
| Bad | 18 (7) | 9 (50) |
| Attitude of traditional healer towards patients | ||
| Good | 139 (51) | 92 (66) |
| Depends on person | 66 (24) | 50 (76) |
| Bad | 2 (1) | 8 (61) |
| Quality of conventional health care | ||
| Good | 167 (62) | 108 (65) |
| Depends on doctor and illness | 88 (33) | 64 (73) |
| Bad | 9 (3) | 3 (33) |
| Attitude of health personnel towards patients | ||
| Good | 93 (34) | 68 (73) |
| Depends on doctor or nurse | 144 (53) | 89 (62) |
| Bad | 30 (11) | 18 (60) |
| Opinion of doctors on traditional medicine | ||
| Both healers and herbs accepted | 83 (31) | 60 (72) |
| None accepted | 73 (27) | 43 (59) |
| Depends on doctor | 31 (11) | 23 (74) |
| Herbs accepted, (some) healers not | 27 (10) | 21 (78) |
| Does not know doctor's opinion | 56 (21) | 30 (54) |
| Opinion of religion on traditional medicine | ||
| Both healers and herbs accepted | 95 (35) | 69 (73) |
| Herbs accepted, (some) healers not | 70 (26) | 46 (66) |
| Does not know | 66 (24) | 40 (61) |
| None accepted | 35 (13) | 19 (54) |
| Depends on type of healer and priest |
11 (4) | 3 (75) |
| Opinion of government on traditional medicine | ||
| Both healers and herbs accepted | 108 (40) | 76 (70) |
| Forbidden by law | 31 (11) | 21 (68) |
| Depends on healer and politician | 3 (1) | 3 (100) |
| Herbs accepted, (some) healers not | 7 (3) | 7 (6) |
| Is not aware of govt. opinion | 116 (43) | 70 (60) |
*As most traditional medicines consist of medicinal plants, the term “herbs” is used here.
**More answers were possible so sum of percentages may be over 100%.
§Variable not included in the multivariate analysis.