Herbal medicine use among hypertensive patients attending public and private health facilities in Freetown Sierra Leone

doi:10.1016/j.ctcp.2018.01.001

. 2018 May:31:7-15.

doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2018.01.001. Epub 2018 Jan 5.

Herbal medicine use among hypertensive patients attending public and private health facilities in Freetown Sierra Leone

Peter Bai James¹, Halimatu Kamara², Abdulai Jawo Bah³, Amie Steel⁴, Jon Wardle⁵

Affiliations

¹ Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia; Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone. Electronic address: Peter.B.James@student.uts.edu.au.
² Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone. Electronic address: halisulkam@gmail.com.
³ Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone; Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone. Electronic address: abdulaijawobah@yahoo.com.
⁴ Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia; Endeavour College of Natural Health, 269 Wickham St, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia. Electronic address: Amie.Steel@endeavour.edu.au.
⁵ Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia. Electronic address: Jon.Wardle@uts.edu.au.

PMID: 29705483
DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2018.01.001

Herbal medicine use among hypertensive patients attending public and private health facilities in Freetown Sierra Leone

Peter Bai James et al. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2018 May.

. 2018 May:31:7-15.

doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2018.01.001. Epub 2018 Jan 5.

Authors

Peter Bai James¹, Halimatu Kamara², Abdulai Jawo Bah³, Amie Steel⁴, Jon Wardle⁵

Affiliations

¹ Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia; Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone. Electronic address: Peter.B.James@student.uts.edu.au.
² Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone. Electronic address: halisulkam@gmail.com.
³ Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone; Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone. Electronic address: abdulaijawobah@yahoo.com.
⁴ Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia; Endeavour College of Natural Health, 269 Wickham St, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia. Electronic address: Amie.Steel@endeavour.edu.au.
⁵ Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia. Electronic address: Jon.Wardle@uts.edu.au.

PMID: 29705483
DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2018.01.001

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence, determinants and pattern of herbal medicine use among hypertensive patients in Freetown.

Methods and materials: We conducted a cross-sectional study among hypertensive patients attending public and private health facilities in Freetown, Sierra Leone between August and October 2016. We analyzed the data using SPSS version 24. We used Chi-square, Fisher exact two-tailed test and regression analysis for data analysis. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: Out of 260 study participants, over half (n = 148, 56.9%) reported using herbal medicine for the treatment of hypertension alone or together with comorbid condition(s). The most commonly used herbal medicine among users were honey (n = 89, 33.3%), moringa (n = 80, 30.0%) and garlic (n = 73, 27.3%). No significant difference existed between users and non-users of herbal medicine with regards to socio-demographic and health-related factors. The majority (n = 241, 92.7%) of respondents considered herbal medicine beneficial if it was recommended by a healthcare provider yet 85.1% (n = 126) did not disclose their herbal medicine use to their health care provider.

Conclusion: There is a high use of herbal medicines among hypertensive patients in Freetown, Sierra Leone. It is essential for healthcare providers to take heed of the findings of this study and routinely ask their patients about their herbal medicine use status. Such practice will provide the opportunity to discuss the benefits and risks of herbal medicine use with the aim of maximizing patient desired therapeutic outcomes.

Keywords: Cardiovascular diseases; Herbal medicine; Hypertension; Sierra Leone; Sub-Saharan Africa.

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Herbal medicine use among hypertensive patients attending public and private health facilities in Freetown Sierra Leone

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Herbal medicine use among hypertensive patients attending public and private health facilities in Freetown Sierra Leone

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