Predictors of Herbal Utilization by Multiethnic Secondary Care Patients in Malaysia: a Cross Sectional Survey
Abstract
This study was carried out to determine the extent to which demographic characteristic and disease variables are significantly associated with herbal use. This study was a cross sectional survey conducted by structured interview using a validated questionnaire. The subjects were selected using a convenience sampling of 250 patients attending medical wards in Penang Hospital. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed to examine the predictors of herbal use. The result found 42.4% of participants (n=106) used herbal medicines, with more than one third used herbs and conventional treatments concomitantly (67.9%). A total of 76 patients (30.4%) used herbal medicines in the past 12 months, and 37 (14.8%) patients had ever been used herbs. Multiple stepwise selection logistic regression modelling identified two significant determinants (P<0.05) of herbal use. These were demographic factor, education attainment and disease variable, kidney problem. Study findings indicate that patients with higher education attainment are more likely to use herbal medicines. In contrast, those who suffer from kidney problems are associated with more than three times decreased odds.