Howell Laura, Kochhar Komal, Saywell Robert, Zollinger Terrell, Koehler Julie, Mandzuk Christina, Sutton Brittany, Sevilla-Martir Javier, Allen Deborah
Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
J Am Board Fam Med. 2006 Nov-Dec;19(6):566-78. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.19.6.566.
This study measured the knowledge and use of herbs among Hispanics and assessed their experiences when discussing herb use with their physician.
Self-administered questionnaires were collected from 620 Hispanic patients seeking treatment in urban health centers.
Most (80.3%) reported using herbs. Herb users were more comfortable speaking Spanish (91.9% vs 80.2%) and had been in the United States less than 5 years (47.0% vs 29.4%). More users considered herbs as drugs (60.5% vs 39.6%). Users were more aware that herbs could harm a baby if taken during pregnancy (56.4% vs 36.0%). The majority did not know the English name for 23 of the 25 herbs. A majority indicated their physician was unaware of their herb use. Few (17.4%) responded that their physicians asked about herb use. Only 41.6% thought their physician would understand their herb use, and 1.8% believed their physician would encourage continued use. There were no significant differences between herb users and nonusers in their perception of patient-physician communication levels.
Primary care physicians need to be aware that most Hispanic patients are likely to use herbs. It is important to initiate and encourage discussion of their patient's interest in and use of these therapies.
本研究测量了西班牙裔人群对草药的知识和使用情况，并评估了他们在与医生讨论草药使用时的经历。
从620名在城市医疗中心寻求治疗的西班牙裔患者中收集了自行填写的问卷。
大多数（80.3%）报告使用过草药。使用草药的人更习惯说西班牙语（91.9%对80.2%），且在美国居住不到5年（47.0%对29.4%）。更多使用者将草药视为药物（60.5%对39.6%）。使用者更清楚怀孕期间服用草药可能会伤害婴儿（56.4%对36.0%）。大多数人不知道25种草药中23种的英文名称。大多数人表示他们的医生不知道他们使用草药的情况。很少有人（17.4%）回答他们的医生询问过草药使用情况。只有41.6%的人认为他们的医生会理解他们使用草药的情况，1.8%的人认为他们的医生会鼓励继续使用。在患者与医生沟通水平的认知方面，使用草药者和不使用者之间没有显著差异。
初级保健医生需要意识到大多数西班牙裔患者可能会使用草药。发起并鼓励讨论患者对这些疗法的兴趣和使用情况很重要。
