Herbal medicine

Abstract

Background: The use of alternative and herbal medicine is increasing among the general population in the United States. The use of herbal medicine by health care professionals has not been documented. Health care professionals tend to base personal and professional practices on scientific research and facts. This population interacts with the public and with health care students. Therefore, personal and professional practices will impact these audiences. Methods: A survey was distributed to all faculty members of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey via interoffice mail. A total of 904 surveys were sent. Statistical analyses included descriptive analysis of personal and professional practice regarding herbal medicine and χ2 analysis of the relationship between personal and professional practices regarding herbal medicine. Significance was set at alpha <.05. Results: The overall response rate was 51%. Approximately one-third (29.6%, n = 134) of the population reported personal use of herbal medicine, 22.1% (n = 42) of the population who provide patient care recommend herbal medicine, 9.4% (n = 36) of those involved in teaching include herbal medicine in coursework, and 1.1% of the population were involved in research on herbs. Respondents who use herbal medicine were more likely to recommend herbs to patients (p < .0001); likewise, users of herbal medicine were more likely to teach students about herbal medicine (p = .001). Conclusions: The results support the hypothesis that personal beliefs and practices do impact professional practices within the clinical and academic settings of the university.