Almech Majd, Alissa Abdulrahim, Baghdadi Ragad Adel, Abujamai Jakleen Z, Hafiz Waleed, Alwafi Hassan, Shaikhomer Mohammed, Alshanberi Asim M, Alshareef Maram H, Alsanosi Safaa M
General Medicine Program, Batterjee Medical College, Jeddah, 21442, Saudi Arabia.
Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
Adv Med Educ Pract. 2024 Dec 18;15:1243-1253. doi: 10.2147/AMEP.S497642. eCollection 2024.
Herbal medicine is integral to Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, which seeks to improve the healthcare system and promote alternative practices while ensuring safety through education and research. This study aims to evaluate medical students' knowledge and perceptions regarding herbal medicine in Saudi Arabia.
A cross-sectional study was conducted among medical students in three medical colleges in Saudi Arabia over a six-month period from 1 February to 31 July 2024. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the participants' characteristics, and categorical variables were reported as frequencies and percentages. A chi-square test was used to test the relationships between variables. A p-value of < 0.05 was taken to indicate statistical significance.
In total, 592 participants were included in the study. Females represented 65.7% of the participants. While 72.6% of the students agreed that medical students lack proper knowledge about the use of herbal medicines, 64.9% preferred having an elective course in complementary medicine (including herbal medicine). Also, 40.9% of students use herbal medicine believing they do not require expert knowledge and can safely experiment with various herbs, and 22.3% use it because they perceive it as having no side effects due to its natural ingredients. The most reported sources of information included family and friends (53.2%), whereas traditional herbalists (Attar) were the most reported sources of herbs (49.3%). The most used herbs among medical students were ginger (83%), turmeric (48.1%), chamomile (46.3%), and myrrh (26.5%). Only 37.7% of students who used herbs had an overall good knowledge and perception of them (P = 0.001). Gender showed a significant relationship with herb use among the students: 95.4% of female students used herbs, compared with 92.6% of male students (P = 0.049).
A considerable proportion of medical students demonstrated insufficient knowledge and perception regarding the use of herbal medicine. To improve their understanding, it is essential to integrate comprehensive courses, organize workshops led by experts, promote research and clinical experiences, and establish patient education initiatives.
草药医学是沙特阿拉伯《2030年愿景》的重要组成部分，该愿景旨在改善医疗体系，推广替代疗法，同时通过教育和研究确保安全。本研究旨在评估沙特阿拉伯医学生对草药医学的知识和认知。
于2024年2月1日至7月31日的六个月期间，在沙特阿拉伯三所医学院的医学生中开展了一项横断面研究。使用描述性统计来描述参与者的特征，分类变量以频率和百分比形式报告。采用卡方检验来检验变量之间的关系。p值<0.05表示具有统计学意义。
本研究共纳入592名参与者。女性占参与者的65.7%。虽然72.6%的学生认为医学生缺乏关于草药使用的适当知识，但64.9%的学生希望开设一门补充医学（包括草药医学）的选修课程。此外，40.9%的学生使用草药是因为他们认为不需要专业知识，可以安全地尝试各种草药，22.3%的学生使用草药是因为他们认为由于其天然成分没有副作用。最常提及的信息来源包括家人和朋友（53.2%），而传统草药师（Attar）是最常提及的草药来源（49.3%）。医学生最常使用的草药是生姜（83%）、姜黄（48.1%）、洋甘菊（46.3%）和没药（26.5%）。在使用草药的学生中，只有37.7%对草药有全面良好的知识和认知（P = 0.001）。性别与学生中的草药使用存在显著关系：95.4%的女学生使用草药，而男学生为92.6%（P = 0.049）。
相当一部分医学生在草药使用方面表现出知识不足和认知欠缺。为了提高他们的理解，整合综合课程、组织专家主导的研讨会、促进研究和临床经验以及开展患者教育倡议至关重要。
