Perception and use of herbals among students and their practitioners in a university setting.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the extent of herbal use among students at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and to examine the campus health services practitioners' attitudes toward herbals.


METHODS
An exploratory study of a nonrandom sampling of 1,754 students and 40 practitioners. The student t test and chi-square comparisons were used to analyze the data.


CONCLUSIONS
Over half of the students surveyed were using herbals, primarily for relief of physical symptoms, prevention of illness, and improvement of general well-being. Many students lacked accurate or sufficient information about herbals and were not seeking medical guidance. Although the practitioners asked students about herbal use and sometimes even encouraged it, 75% noted the need for additional professional education about herbals.


CONCLUSIONS
Practitioners in the college health setting need to be cognizant of students' self-medication with herbals and need to have the knowledge to guide students appropriately.
Ambrose
Evelyn T
ET
Rutgers University Health Services, Newark, New Jersey, USA. etambrose@yahoo.com
Samuels
Sandra
S
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009515:New Jersey; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000451:nursing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D013333:Student Health Services / Q000592:standards; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D010936:Plant Extracts