A Cross-Sectional Survey of Iraqi Herbalist Practicing in the Middle Euphrates Area with a Recognition of their Knowledge, Practice and Attitude(Conference Paper )#
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31351/vol31issSuppl.pp178-187Abstract
High percentage of the Iraqi population profoundly rely on folk medicine to meet their health needs which makes their safety questionable. This study aims to evaluate Iraqi herbalists' knowledge and practice to ensure the public's safety.
This study was conducted in a cross-sectional design between October 2021 and March 2022, using a pretested questionnaire administered to Iraqi herbalists practicing in Middle Euphrates Area. Through face-to-face meetings, participants completed a multicomponent questionnaire comprising 15 items in four sections. The data obtained were analyzed using a statistical package for social sciences; Chi-square was used to correlate some variables, and P-values of <0.05 were considered significant.
A total of 54 male herbalists from five Iraqi provinces joined this survey, the majority practicing in Kabala. Most herbalists had 10- 20 years of experience, and more than 50% had a university degree. Data showed that 72.2% of herbalists identify their herbal items using their own experience, and 35.2% use this experience as their sole source of knowledge. Only 35.1% use herbal books in conjugation with their experiences, and a few (1.9%( use multiple sources of information. Herbalists with more years of experience (79.6%( evaluate patient conditions properly, follow up (40.7%(, and refer patients to their physicians when needed (42.6%(. Although fifty percent of herbalists educate their patients regarding the storage condition of remedies, most of them refrain from writing the complete ingredients on their final product regardless of their experience. Results also showed that most herbalists do not have a record tracking adverse reaction.
Most Iraqi herbalists lack the proper system for prescribing and dispensing their remedies and adequately identifying the sold herbs. The study showed a variation in practice among herbalists using approaches based mainly on their experience.
How to Cite
Publication Dates
References
Si-Hua Gao, Shu-Feng Zhou, Zhi-Ling Yu, Hou-Qi Chen, Shuo-Feng Zhang, Min-Ke Tang, Jian-Ning Sun, and Kam-Ming Ko; Review Article: Historical Perspective of Traditional Indigenous Medical Practices, The Current Renaissance and Conservation of Herbal Resource. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2014;(4214):525340
Mehdi Dolatkhahi, Ali Dolatkhahi , and Javad Bagher Nejad; Introduction of Medicinal Plants used in Arjan – Parishan Protected Area in Fars Province of Iran. Avicenna Journal of Phytomedicine .2014; 4(6):402-12
World Health Organization. 2007. WHO monographs on selected medicinal plants. Geneva, WHO Publications
Pan SY, Litscher G, Gao SH, Zhou SF, Yu ZL, Chen HQ, Zhang SF, Tang MK, Sun JN, and Ko KM; Historical perspective of traditional indigenous medical practices: the current renaissance and conservation of herbal resources. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine .2014;(2014):525340
Cecilia NC, Al Washali A, Albishty A.M.M, Suriani I, Rosliza A; The use of herbal medicine in arab countries: A review. International Journal of Public Health and Clinical Science .2017; 4:1–14.
Reem A. Issa and Iman A. Basheti; Herbal medicine use by people in jordan: exploring believes and knowledge of herbalists and their customers. Journal of Biological Sciences, 2017;400.409
Awad, A. and D. Al-Shaye; Public awareness, patterns of use and attitudes toward natural health products in kuwait: a cross-sectional survey. BMC Complement and Alternative Medicine 2014, 14-105
Samira Muhammed Ebrahim and Utoor Talib Jassim; Herbal use among hypertensive patients in basra, iraq international. Journal of Advanced Scientific and Technical Research 2020;6-10
Kadhim Ali Kadhim, Ashwaq Najemaldeen Abbas, Saad Abdulrahman Hussain; Use of herbal drugs as alternative medicine: experience of iraqi patients. Spatula DD 2016; 5(4):1-7
Kadhim Ali Kadhim, Zena M. Qaragholi, Ghofran Khudair Hamad,Safa Omran and Ayat Hamid; A cluster survey on the use of herbs in the iraqi societ. Plant Cell Biotechnology and Molecular Biology 2021; 22(33-34):54-60
Karimi A, Majlesi M, Rafieian-Kopaei M. ; Herbal versus synthetic drugs; beliefs and facts. Journal of Nephropharmacology 2015 ;4(1):27-30.
Ekor M. The growing use of herbal medicines: issues relating to adverse reactions and challenges in monitoring safety. Frontiers in Pharmacololgy. 2014; 4:177.
Parmer V; Herbal Medicine: Its toxic effect and drug interaction. The Indian Anaesthetics’ Forum; 2005;18: 1-9
Ahmed, H.M. ; Ethnopharmacobotanical study on the medicinal plants used by herbalists in Sulaymaniyah Province, Kurdistan, Iraq. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2016;12:8
Alaadin Naqishbandi; Plants used in Iraqi traditional medicine in Erbil - Kurdistan regio. Zanco Journal of Medicinal Sciences 2014; 18:3
Nedhal A. Al – Douri ; Some important medicinal plant in Iraq. International Journal of Advances in Herbal and Alternative Medicine 2014;2(1): 10 – 20
Nedhal A. Al-douri ; A Survey of medicinal plants and their traditional uses in Iraq. Pharmaceutical Biology 2000; 38(1):74-79
Haque, M.I., Chowdhury, A.B.M.A., Shahjahan, M. et al. Traditional healing practices in rural bangladesh: a qualitative investigation. BMC Complement and Alternative Medicine 2018;18 (1):62
Habtom GK. Perceptions and attitudes of modern and traditional medical practitioners about traditional medical practice in Eritre. International Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2018;11(1):6-1
Auwalu Abdullahi,Azmi Hassan, Norizhar Kadarman, Ahmadu Saleh, Yusha’u Shu’aibu ,Baraya Pei Lin Lua; Food safety knowledge, attitude, and practice toward compliance with abattoir laws among the abattoir workers in Malaysi. International Journal of General Medicine 2016:9
Wahidiyat PA, Yo EC, and Wildani MM Cross-sectional study on knowledge, attitude and practice towards thalassaemia among Indonesian youth. British Medical Journal, 2021;11: e054736
Lujain Anwar Alkhazrajy, Huda Adnan Habib, Zena Ismail Alsudani,; Perception of Iraqi health care providers about herbs in practice. European Journal of Botany, Plant Science and Phytology. 2014 ;1:27-52
Negash Belachew, BSc Pharm1 , Tarekegne Tadesse, MSc Pharm1 , and Addisu Alemayehu Gube, MPH2 , Knowledge, attitude, and practice of complementary and alternative medicine among residents of Wayu Town, Western Ethiopia, Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine. 2017; 22(4) :929-935
Charan J, Biswas T. How to calculate sample size for different study designs in medical research? Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine 2013; 35(2):121-6.
Wild D, Grove A, Martin M, et al. Principles of good practice for the translation and cultural adaptation process for patient-reported outcomes (PRO) Measures: report of the ISPOR Task Force for Translation and Cultural Adaptation. Value Health. 2005;8(2):94-104.
Ijaz N, Boon H. Statutory regulation of traditional medicine practitioners and practices: the need for distinct policy-making guidelines. Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2018; 24(4):307-313
World Health Organization. WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014–2023. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2013.
Dixon A. Regulating complementary medical practitioners: An international review. King's Fund, 2008
Walji, Rishma et al. Adverse event reporting for herbal medicines: a result of market forces. Healthcare policy, Politiques de sante. 2009; 4(4): 77-90.
Chang, HH., Chiang, SY., Chen, PC. et al. A system for reporting and evaluating adverse drug reactions of herbal medicine in Taiwan from 1998 to 2016. Scientific Reports 2021, 11, 21476
World Health Organization. WHO Guidelines for the Assessment of Herbal Medicine. Programme on Traditional Medicine WHO Geneva, 1991
Reem A. Issa and Iman A. Basheti. Herbal medicine use by people in jordan: exploring believes and knowledge of herbalists and their customer. Journal of Biological Sciences, 2017.400.409
Jocelyn DeJong. Traditional medicine in Sub-Saharan Africa: Its Importance and Potential Policy; Population and Human Resources Department, The World Bank, July 1991
Addis, Getachew et al. Perceptions and practices of modern and traditional health practitioners about traditional medicine in Shirka district, Arsi zone, Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Health Development.2002; 16: 19-23
Gessler, M C et al. Traditional healers in Tanzania: sociocultural profile and three short portraits. Journal of ethnopharmacology; 1995 48,3:145-60.
Ekar, Tjaša, and Samo Kreft; Common risks of adulterated and mislabeled herbal preparations. Food and chemical toxicology: an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association. 2019 ;123: 288-297
Tolga Eichhorn, a Henry Johannes Greten, and Thomas Efferth; Self-medication with nutritional supplements and herbal over-the counter products. Natural Prodroducts and Bioprospecive .2011; 1: 62–70
Vanherweghem J. L., Degaute J. P. The policy of admission to the education in medicine and dentistry in the French-speaking community of Belgium. Acta Clinica Belgica. 1998; 53: 2–3
Cosyns J. P., Jadoul M., Squifflet J. P., Wese F. X, van Ypersele de Strihou C. ;Urothelial lesions in Chinese-herb nephropathy. American Journal Kidney. 1999; 33 :1011–1017
Ernst E . Toxic heavy metals and undeclared drugs in Asian herbal medicines. Trends Pharmacology Sciences. 2002, 23 136–139
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Iraqi Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences ( P-ISSN 1683 - 3597 E-ISSN 2521 - 3512)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
