Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Towards Herbs and Herbal Products Among Health Sciences Students of a University in Uae

Abstract

Herbal products and supplements are a branch of CAM, and are consumed for several health purposes, and mostly without a medical advice. To assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward these herbals, we conducted a college-based survey, distributed to 334 students of dentistry and pharmacy in a university in United Arab Emirates. The survey included questions about the herbals used, purpose of consuming them, drug-herbals interaction, and safety of herbal consumed. Among the sample, only 5% of students didn't use any herbals, at all. A high percentage of respondents believed that herbals are able to treat some medical conditions, while a weaker agreement was obtained regarding the safety of herbals. These results indicate that health sciences college students need to be counseled about the proper use of herbals.

Evaluation of the knowledge level and usage attitudes of the medical students on the medicinal herbs and herbal products: a project of special study module in the first three years of the school of medicine

“…28 Similarly, according to Shavan et al, most of the health science students participating in the survey supported the fact that herbal products could be useful for the treatment of certain medical conditions and for promoting health. 29 In this study it was found that family was an important source of information on the use of medicinal herbs and herbal products. Other learning resources for medicinal herbs and herbal products were determined as the internet and friends.…”