Knowledge, perceptions, and consumption of herbal medicine in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana

Abstract

This study adopted a cross-sectional survey to collect data in three cities in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, namely, Tema, Ashaiman, and Madina, to assess respondents’ knowledge, perception, and consumption of herbal medicines. These cities were selected because they have multitudes of herbal medicine sellers plying their trade in designated areas. A total of 400 respondents were drawn for this study using a convenience sampling technique. Using STATA Windows version 17.0, descriptive statistics were performed on the data. Logistic regression analysis was further performed to determine the socio-demographic predictors associated with the utilization of herbal medicine and the safety of herbal medicine. The analysis revealed that over two-thirds (n = 290; 72.5%) of the respondents disclosed that they had used herbal medicine products to treat some diseases before. A greater chunk of the respondents (n = 316; 79.0%) disclosed that herbal medicines were effective for them. Most of the respondents (n = 394; 96.3%) reported their inclination to recommend herbal products to others for the treatment of infections. Almost all respondents (n = 387; 96.8%) claimed that herbal medicines are very safe, while 19 (4.7%) of them reported some personal complications with them. Further, male respondents were 1.54 times more likely to believe that herbal medicine is safe to use as compared to females (cOR: 1.54; 95%CI: 1.01-2.37; p-value: 0.045). Further, respondents aged 51–61 had a higher odds of being 4.16 times more likely to use herbal medicine due to its safety (cOR: 4.16; 95%CI: 1.18–14.67; p-value: 0.026). We, therefore, conclude that there is a high patronage of herbal medicines among the population, and the tendency for the users to convince others to accept herbal treatment is high.

Keywords: Phytotherapy, medicinal and aromatic plants, knowledge, perception