Prevalence and Correlates of Herbal Medicine Use among Women Seeking Care for Infertility in Freetown, Sierra Leone

James, PB; Taidy-Leigh, L; Bah, AJ; Kanu, JS; Kangbai, JB; Sevalie, S

Prevalence and Correlates of Herbal Medicine Use among Women Seeking Care for Infertility in Freetown, Sierra Leone

James, PB

Taidy-Leigh, L Bah, AJ Kanu, JS Kangbai, JB Sevalie, S

Permalink

Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2018, 2018
Issue Date:: 2018-04-22

Open Access

Copyright Clearance Process

Recently Added
In Progress
Open Access

This item is open access.

Adobe PDF

Download Published VersionAdobe PDF (1.55 MB)

View on publisher's site

View statistics

Full metadata record

Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	James, PB https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6373-5704	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Taidy-Leigh, L	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Bah, AJ	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Kanu, JS	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Kangbai, JB	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Sevalie, S	en_US
dc.date.available	2018-02-18	en_US
dc.date.issued	2018-04-22	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2018, 2018	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1741-427X	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/128679
dc.description.abstract	© 2018 Peter Bai James et al. In resource-poor countries where access to infertility care is limited, women may turn to traditional medicine to achieve motherhood. It is unknown whether Sierra Leonean women with such condition use herbal medicine. This study investigates the prevalence and factors associated with herbal medicine use among women seeking care for infertility. This was a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study conducted among women seeking care for infertility at various clinics within Freetown, Sierra Leone. Data analysis included Chi-square tests and logistic regression. Out of the 167 women that participated, 36.5% used herbal medicine for infertility treatment. Women with no formal (AOR 4.03, CL: 1.38-11.76, p=0.011), primary education (AOR: 6.23, CL: 2.02-19.23, p=0.001) and those that visited a traditional medicine practitioner (AOR: 20.05, CL: 2.10-192.28, p=0.009) as well as women suffering from other reproductive health problems (AOR: 2.57, CL: 1.13-5.83, p=0.024) were more likely to use herbal medicines. Friends and family (n=57, 96.7%) were the main influencers of herbal medicine use. Only (n=12) 19.7% of users disclosed their status to their healthcare provider. Over half (n=32, 52.5%) could not remember the name of the herb they used. Luffa acutangula (n=29, 100%) was the herbal medicinal plant users could recall. Herbal medicine use among women seeking care for infertility in Freetown is common. Healthcare providers should be aware of the potential dyadic use of herbal and allopathic medicines by their patients and be knowledgeable about commonly used herbal remedies as well as being proactive in communicating the potential risks and benefits associated with their use.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1155/2018/9493807	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Complementary & Alternative Medicine	en_US
dc.title	Prevalence and Correlates of Herbal Medicine Use among Women Seeking Care for Infertility in Freetown, Sierra Leone	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	2018	en_US
utslib.for	1104 Complementary and Alternative Medicine	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	2018	en_US

Abstract:

© 2018 Peter Bai James et al. In resource-poor countries where access to infertility care is limited, women may turn to traditional medicine to achieve motherhood. It is unknown whether Sierra Leonean women with such condition use herbal medicine. This study investigates the prevalence and factors associated with herbal medicine use among women seeking care for infertility. This was a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study conducted among women seeking care for infertility at various clinics within Freetown, Sierra Leone. Data analysis included Chi-square tests and logistic regression. Out of the 167 women that participated, 36.5% used herbal medicine for infertility treatment. Women with no formal (AOR 4.03, CL: 1.38-11.76, p=0.011), primary education (AOR: 6.23, CL: 2.02-19.23, p=0.001) and those that visited a traditional medicine practitioner (AOR: 20.05, CL: 2.10-192.28, p=0.009) as well as women suffering from other reproductive health problems (AOR: 2.57, CL: 1.13-5.83, p=0.024) were more likely to use herbal medicines. Friends and family (n=57, 96.7%) were the main influencers of herbal medicine use. Only (n=12) 19.7% of users disclosed their status to their healthcare provider. Over half (n=32, 52.5%) could not remember the name of the herb they used. Luffa acutangula (n=29, 100%) was the herbal medicinal plant users could recall. Herbal medicine use among women seeking care for infertility in Freetown is common. Healthcare providers should be aware of the potential dyadic use of herbal and allopathic medicines by their patients and be knowledgeable about commonly used herbal remedies as well as being proactive in communicating the potential risks and benefits associated with their use.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/128679