Use of herbal supplements among rural African‐Americans participating in a cardiovascular disease prevention program

Abstract

The use of alternative medicine (herbal products) among Americans has increased over the years. The increased use is associated with their proposed curative and preventive disease potentials and the promotion of health and longevity. The use of herbal supplement remains a concern for healthcare professionals. Many herbs can interact with prescription drugs, and may cause complications in certain disease conditions. This study assessed knowledge, use and safety of herbal supplement among African Americans participating in a cardiovascular disease prevention program. A questionnaire was designed for a rural low literacy population. It was distributed to 103 participants consisting of 88% women and 12% men. Frequencies and one‐way ANOVA was used to test the significance of selected variables. Eighty‐six percent of participants had knowledge of ginseng followed by St. Johns Wort (62%) and ginkgo biloba (61%). Only 27% used herbal supplements regularly while 28% used them sometimes and 41% not using them at all. Only 22% reported taking garlic pills. On safety issues 57% would stop taking herbal supplement. No difference (p>0.05) was observed between usefulness and safety. Based on the preliminary results no wide spread use of herbal supplement was observed this population group.