Yozgat Bozok University, Akdagmadeni School of Health, Nursing Department, Yozgat, Turkey.
BMC Complement Med Ther. 2023 Oct 23;23(1):376. doi: 10.1186/s12906-023-04209-z.
As a biologically based therapy, honey is used by parents in many parts of the world as a home remedy for their children. While information exists regarding the traditional use of honey for health issues in children, data regarding its relationship with health literacy is lacking. The aims of this study were to determine the use of honey to address children's health issues among parents of children aged 0-72 months and to explore the relationship between the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and health literacy.
The data for this descriptive, cross-sectional study were collected between October and November 2022 via an online survey of 907 parents of children aged 0-72 months. A sociodemographic data collection form, the Holistic Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire (HCAMQ), and the Turkey Health Literacy Scale-32 (THLS-32) were used to collect the data. A t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and Pearson correlation analysis were used to analyze the data.
The majority (86.5%) of the parents used honey for their children's health problems. Among the parents, 83.1% utilized honey as a remedy for alleviating cough symptoms, 10.4% employed it as a treatment for diarrhea, and 14% administered it for the management of oral mucositis. The mean THLS-32 and HCAMQ scores of the parents were 29.39 and 21.31, respectively, and there was a moderate correlation between the parents' THLS-32 and HCAMQ mean scores (r = 0.662, p < 0.001).
This study revealed that a significant proportion of parents who used honey to alleviate their children's health issues displayed positive attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) while concurrently exhibiting insufficient or limited health literacy levels. Therefore, it is advisable to enhance health literacy regarding the proper and safe utilization of honey, which functions as a biologically based CAM therapy.
作为一种基于生物学的疗法，蜂蜜在世界许多地方被父母用作儿童的家庭疗法。虽然有关于蜂蜜在儿童健康问题上的传统用途的信息，但关于其与健康素养关系的数据却缺乏。本研究的目的是确定父母在 0-72 个月儿童中使用蜂蜜来解决儿童健康问题的情况，并探讨补充和替代医学（CAM）的使用与健康素养之间的关系。
本描述性、横断面研究的数据于 2022 年 10 月至 11 月间通过对 907 名 0-72 个月儿童父母的在线调查收集。使用社会人口统计学数据收集表、整体补充和替代医学问卷（HCAMQ）和土耳其健康素养量表-32（THLS-32）收集数据。使用 t 检验、单因素方差分析和 Pearson 相关分析对数据进行分析。
大多数（86.5%）父母使用蜂蜜来解决孩子的健康问题。在父母中，83.1%的人用蜂蜜缓解咳嗽症状，10.4%的人用它治疗腹泻，14%的人用它治疗口腔粘膜炎。父母的 THLS-32 和 HCAMQ 平均得分为 29.39 和 21.31，父母的 THLS-32 和 HCAMQ 平均得分之间存在中度相关性（r=0.662，p<0.001）。
本研究表明，相当一部分使用蜂蜜缓解孩子健康问题的父母对补充和替代医学（CAM）持积极态度，同时表现出健康素养水平不足或有限。因此，建议提高关于正确和安全使用蜂蜜的健康素养，因为蜂蜜是一种基于生物学的 CAM 疗法。
