Table 3.
Prevalence and characteristics of herbal medicine use in the study population, Gondar, Ethiopia (N = 387)
| Variables | Frequency (%) |
|---|---|
| Herbal medicine use since diagnosis | |
| No | 147 (38) |
| Yes | 240 (62) |
| Reasons for herbal medicine use (n = 240) (more than one option is possible) | |
| Family, tradition or culture | 74 (30.8) |
| Belief in advantages of herbal medicine | 97 (40.4) |
| Herbal medicine is accessible and available | 66 (27.5) |
| Treatment of diabetes and other medical problems | 23 (9.6) |
| Dissatisfaction with conventional therapy | 102 (42.5) |
| Others | 15 (6.2) |
| Reasons for not using herbal medicine among non-users (n = 147) (more than one option is possible) | |
| Additional burden | 62 (42.2) |
| Afraid of side effect | 105 (74.4) |
| The doctor didn’t prescribe herbal medicine | 81 (55.1) |
| Lack of belief in the benefits of herbal medicine | 89 (60.5) |
| Discuss with HCPs about herbal medicine use (n = 239) | |
| No | 208 (86.6) |
| Yes | 31 (12.9) |
| Reason for not discussing with HCPs (n = 240) | |
| Anticipating negative response about herbal medicine use | 158 (65.8) |
| Insufficient information of herbal medicine | 20 (8.4) |
| It is not important for doctor to know about my herbal medicine use | 62 (25.8) |
| Satisfaction with herbal medicine use (n = 240) | |
| Satisfied | 103 (42.9) |
| Average | 89 (37.1) |
| Dissatisfied | 48 (20) |
Abbreviation: HCPs Health care practitioners