KNOWLEDGE, PERCEPTION AND PATTERN OF USE OF HERBAL REMEDIES AMONG COMMERCIAL DRIVERS IN OLORUNDA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, OSOGBO, OSUN STATE

Abstract

People engage in the use of herbal therapies and other natural treatments owing to the impression that they are more efficacious and risk-free than allopathic medicines. These herbal remedies may have their own benefits but the safety is not guaranteed. This study investigated the knowledge, perception and pattern of use of herbal remedies among commercial drivers in Olorunda Local Government Area, Osogbo, Osun state. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using a three-stage sampling technique. A total of 374 respondents were selected from four motor parks (‘Oke-Fia’, ‘Stadium’, ‘Old garage’ and ‘Ota-Efun’) using proportionate and systematic random selection, with an interviewer-administered questionnaire used to collect data from them. Knowledge about herbal remedies was assessed using a 5-point scale with score < 4 categorized as ‘poor’ and ≥ 4 as ‘good’. Perception about herbal remedies was assessed using a 13-point scale with score < 7 categorized as ‘unfavorable’ and ≥7 as ‘favorable’ towards herbal remedies. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test at p = 0.05. Out of the 374 questionnaires administered, 352 were used for the data analysis, the remaining were rejected because they had too many missing data. Respondents were all males and the mean age was 44.3±10.2 years. Majority (98%) of the respondents reported use of herbal remedies. Also, the majority (99.1%) of respondents had awareness about herbal remedies and the major source of information about herbal remedies was through elders (98%). Other leading sources of information included hawkers (91.4%), family members (88.9%), friends (88.9%), co-drivers (81.7%), radio (77.1%), and television (74.9%). Majority (82.4%) of the respondents showed poor knowledge of herbal remedies while only 17.6% had good knowledge. Majority (96.9%) of the respondents had a favorable perception about herbal remedies while a bare 3.1% had an unfavorable perception. Respondents used herbal remedies for both prophylactic and curative treatment of health problems including malaria, pile, typhoid and stomach ache. Most (63.7%) of the respondents reported the intake of alcohol-based herbal remedies such as ‘sepe’, ‘alomo bitters’ and ‘paraga’ which have intoxicating properties, however, only

32.1% of them reported the intake before driving. Respondents’ age, marital status, knowledge of herbal remedy and perception of herbal remedy showed statistically significant relationship with usage of herbal product when need arises (p<0.05). However, there was no relationship between other socio-demographic characteristics and usage of herbal medicine as all tests of associations were not statistically significant. Herbal medicine is popular among the respondents but they appear to be ignorant of its potential toxicities as reflected by the poor knowledge and favorable perception about the medicine. Public enlightenment programs and effective communication about safe use of herbal medicines may be necessary as a means of minimizing the potential adverse effects.