HEALTH SERVICE RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION ABSTRACTS
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Salons 10-12.
THURSDAY, 5:30-6:15 PM
Bayles B, Burge S, Albright TL, Morgan-Kidd J, Wood
R, White D, Trevino JJ, Bajorek E, Cigarroa L, Click M.
Herbal use and satisfaction with conventional medications
among Hispanics.
Center for Integrative Health; University of Texas
Health Science Center at San Antonio baylesb@uthscsa.edu
PURPOSE: We sought to determine the nature of
herbal medicine use and its relationship to satisfaction with prescription
and/or over-the-counter medicines among Hispanic men and women in a
primary care setting. We also explored whether herbal users may be at
risk of adverse reactions based upon their reports of use of various
classes of prescription medications.
METHODS: We conducted a bi-lingual, cross-sectional
survey in six family health centers at family practice residency programs
throughout South Texas affiliated with the University of Texas Health
Science Center at San Antonio. Participants were asked about their alternative
medicine use, current prescription and over-the-counter medication use,
satisfaction, as well as the perceived efficacy of all therapies used,
conventional or otherwise.
RESULTS: Herbal remedies ranked as the 4th most
frequently used alternative modality (27.6%), behind prayer (64.4%),
exercise (54.6%), and vitamins (46.5%). While ranking fourth among the
top ten alternative medicine modalities, herbs were ranked number one
for the proportion of users who claimed it was a "cure" for their problem
(41.1%). Prescription drug and over-the-counter medication use were
each associated with an increased likelihood of using herbal remedies.
Dissatisfaction with prescription and/or over-the-counter medicines
was not related to herbal therapy use.
CONCLUSIONS: Herbal medicine is commonly used
and appears to be perceived as very effective among many Hispanic patients
in South Texas primary care settings. Health care practitioners working
with Hispanic patients should improve their knowledge of the rich herbal
healing traditions of Latin America in order to avoid potential adverse
herb-drug interactions and improve cross-cultural understanding.
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