Prevalence, Attitude and Practice of Herbal Medicine in Bahrain

Abstract

In the last few years, there has been a growing interest in using herbs worldwide for treating various diseases, however, there is not much knowledge about the prevalence of herbal medicine (HM) use in Bahrain. The objective of this study is to assess the prevalence, attitude, perception, and practice of using HMs by the Bahraini population. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 694 individuals aged 18–65 years from the Kingdom of Bahrain. A snowball non-random sampling design with an electronically distributed structured questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaire had 19 questions divided into four themes. Information was obtained on sociodemographic characteristics, perceptions, attitudes, and the practice of using HMs among participants. Most of the respondents (73.5%) were females. 73.6% of the participants were interested in HMs, and approximately 90.5% were interested in receiving more information about HMs. It was found that 92.4% of participants declared to have used HMs; with 86.7% of them applying HMs for therapeutic purposes; 61.6% of them reporting partially successful efficacy. 85.6% of the sample believed that the reason for using herbs was the lower rate of side effects compared to conventional medicines. More than half of the participants thought that herbs were safer than conventional medicines (61.8%). Additionally, most of the participants used the internet and social media as their main sources of information (80.5%), while 78.9% got information about herbs from friends. It was also found that there were several sociodemographic characteristics that affected individuals’ perceptions, practices, and attitudes; age and gender being the most common. HM usage is increasing in Bahrain for therapeutic purposes, and thus, it is vital to create trusted channels enhancing knowledge and awareness of the Bahraini population about the proper use of herbs and their potential side effects.