Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Sydney 2007, Australia.
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone, 00232 Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Medicina (Kaunas). 2019 Jul 18;55(7):387. doi: 10.3390/medicina55070387.
In addition to conventional healthcare, Ebola survivors are known to seek traditional and complementary healthcare (T&CM) options to meet their healthcare needs. However, little is known about the general beliefs of Ebola survivors regarding T&CM and the impact of these beliefs in influencing their decisions around T&CM use. This study examines Ebola survivors' attitudes towards T&CM use in Sierra Leone. We conducted a nationwide quantitative cross-sectional study of 358 Ebola survivors in Sierra Leone between January and August 2018. We used descriptive analysis, chi-square tests and backward stepwise binary logistic regression for data analysis. Close to half of the survivors (n = 163, 45.5%) had used T&CM since their discharge from an Ebola treatment centre. Survivors who viewed T&CM as boosting their immune system/resistance were 3.89 times (95%CI: 1.57-9.63, = 0.003) more likely to use T&CM than those who did not view T&CM as boosting their immune system/resistance. Additionally, survivors who viewed T&CM as having fewer side effects than conventional medicine were more likely to use T&CM [OR = 5.03 (95%CI: 1.92-13.19, = 0.001)]. Ebola survivors were more influenced to use T&CM based on their personal experience of the effectiveness of T&CM than by clinical evidence [OR = 13.72 (95%CI: 6.10-30.84, < 0.001)]. Ebola survivors who perceived T&CM as providing them with more control than conventional medicine over their health/body were more likely to use T&CM [OR = 4.15 (95%CI: 1.74-9.89, = 0.001)] as opposed to those who did not perceive T&CM in this way. Considering the widespread use of T&CM, an understanding of Ebola survivors' attitudes/beliefs towards T&CM is useful to healthcare providers and policymakers with regard to public education and practitioner-survivors communication, T&CM regulation and research in Sierra Leone. Ebola survivors appear to turn to T&CM not only for treatment, but also to fill gaps in conventional health care services.
除了传统的医疗保健外，埃博拉幸存者已知会寻求传统和补充医疗保健（T&CM）选择来满足他们的医疗保健需求。然而，对于埃博拉幸存者对 T&CM 的普遍看法以及这些看法对他们使用 T&CM 决策的影响知之甚少。本研究调查了塞拉利昂埃博拉幸存者对 T&CM 使用的态度。我们在 2018 年 1 月至 8 月期间对塞拉利昂的 358 名埃博拉幸存者进行了一项全国性的定量横断面研究。我们使用描述性分析、卡方检验和向后逐步二元逻辑回归进行数据分析。近一半的幸存者（n=163，45.5%）在从埃博拉治疗中心出院后使用了 T&CM。与那些不认为 T&CM 能增强他们的免疫系统/抵抗力的幸存者相比，认为 T&CM 能增强他们的免疫系统/抵抗力的幸存者使用 T&CM 的可能性高 3.89 倍（95%CI：1.57-9.63，=0.003）。此外，认为 T&CM 比传统药物副作用少的幸存者更有可能使用 T&CM [OR=5.03（95%CI：1.92-13.19，=0.001)]。埃博拉幸存者更倾向于根据个人对 T&CM 有效性的经验而不是临床证据来使用 T&CM [OR=13.72（95%CI：6.10-30.84，<0.001)]。与那些不这样认为的幸存者相比，认为 T&CM 能给他们提供比传统医学更多的对自己的健康/身体的控制感的幸存者更有可能使用 T&CM [OR=4.15（95%CI：1.74-9.89，=0.001)]。鉴于 T&CM 的广泛使用，了解埃博拉幸存者对 T&CM 的态度/信念对于塞拉利昂的医疗保健提供者和政策制定者进行公众教育和从业者-幸存者沟通、T&CM 监管和研究非常有用。埃博拉幸存者似乎不仅寻求 T&CM 治疗，而且还寻求传统医疗保健服务的空白。
