The importance of herbal medicine use in the German health-care system: prevalence, usage pattern, and influencing factors.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Prevalence rates for herbal medicine (HM) have been increasing worldwide. However, little is known about prevalence, user characteristics, usage pattern and factors influencing HM usage for the general German population. METHODS:A nationwide online survey on HM usage was conducted in Germany. The 2906 participants were categorised into three groups: the ones who used HM in the last 12 months, the ones who did not use HM in the last 12 months but in their lifetime, and the ones who did not use HM until now. Data were analysed by descriptive statistics, Chi Square tests and binary hierarchical logistic regression analyses. RESULTS:Prevalence rates of HM were found to be very high for the general German population. Self-medication appeared as a common praxis, when at the same time

SUBMITTER: Welz AN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6905107 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature