Why Urban Citizens in Developing Countries Use Traditional Medicines : The Case of Suriname

The use of traditional medicines (TMs) among urban populations in developing countries and factors underlying people’s decision to use TMs are poorly documented. We interviewed 270 adults in Paramaribo, Suriname, using a stratified random household sample, semistructured questionnaires, and multivar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine 2013-01, Vol.2013 (2013), p.1-13
Main Authors: van Andel, Tinde, Carvalheiro, Luísa G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Alternative medicine
Children
Developing countries
Familiarity
Fever
Headache
Health risks
Herbal medicine
Herbs
Industrialized nations
Knowledge management
LDCs
Medical personnel
Medicinal plants
Motivation
Multivariate analysis
Natural products
Population
Poverty
Public health
Rural areas
Spirituality
Urban populations
Urinary tract
Uterus
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Summary:The use of traditional medicines (TMs) among urban populations in developing countries and factors underlying people’s decision to use TMs are poorly documented. We interviewed 270 adults in Paramaribo, Suriname, using a stratified random household sample, semistructured questionnaires, and multivariate analysis. Respondents mentioned 144 medicinal plant species, most frequently Gossypium barbadense, Phyllanthus amarus, and Quassia amara. 66% had used TMs in the previous year, especially people who suffered from cold, fever, hypertension, headache, uterus, and urinary tract problems. At least 22% combined herbs with prescription medicine. The strongest explanatory variables were health status, (transfer of) plant knowledge, and health status combined with plant knowledge. Other predictive variables included religion, marital status, attitude of medical personnel, religious opinion on TMs, and number of children per household. Age, gender, nationality, rural background, education, employment, income, insurance, and opinion of government or doctors had no influence. People’s main motivation to use TMs was their familiarity with herbs. Given the frequent use of self-collected, home-prepared herbal medicine and the fact that illness and traditional knowledge predict plant use rather than poverty or a limited access to modern health care, the potential risks and benefits of TMs should be put prominently on the national public health agenda.
ISSN:1741-427X
1741-4288
DOI:10.1155/2013/687197