Herbs in orthodox practice: a view by medical students.
Use and opinion of herbs among medical students of Imo State University Nigeria was assessed. Information on herb use, indication and opinion from returned self-administered questionnaire was analyzed. A total of 114 students (91.2%) of 125 responded. 32 (28.1%) students had used herbs before, a significant proportion being males (OR 3.7). Herbal tea was the most popular herb used; maintaining good health and treating malaria were the only indications (50% each). Most students (>90%) believe herbs to be harmful, and generally unsafe especially in pregnancy. Most students (73%) who had used herbs consider them effective in treating hypertension or diabetes mellitus (OR 3.5 & 6.0 respectively). Most students (89.1%) believe there's a lot of misinformation about herbs. Most students view use of herbs with skepticism. Inculcating study of herbs in medical curriculum will provide better information on herbs.
Enwere
O Okezie
OO
Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Imo State University, PMB 08, Orlu, Imo State, Nigeria. okeyzie@yahoo.com
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000188:drug therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy; D055048:Integrative Medicine; D008288:Malaria / Q000188:drug therapy; D008297:Male; D009549:Nigeria; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy; D013337:Students, Medical; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult