HERBAL MEDICINE SAFETY AWARENESS AMONG HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS IN FREETOWN SIERRA LEONE

Authors

  • Augustus Osborne Department of Biological Sciences, School of Basic Sciences, Njala University, PMB, Freetown, Sierra Leone
  • Peter Bai James National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University, Australia; Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone
  • Camilla Bangura Department of Biological Sciences, School of Basic Sciences, Njala University, PMB, Freetown, Sierra Leone
  • Samuel Maxwell Tom Williams Department of Biological Sciences, School of Basic Sciences, Njala University, PMB, Freetown, Sierra Leone
  • Abraham Khanu Princess Christian Maternity Hospital Freetown, Sierra Leone
  • Aiah Lebbie Department of Biological Sciences, School of Basic Sciences, Njala University, PMB, Freetown, Sierra Leone

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4314/sljbr.v14i2.10

Abstract

Background: There is a pressing need to incorporate herbal medicine preventative measures into the current pharmacovigilance system, as recent evidence from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows. However, medical professionals are generally unaware of the relative safety of herbal remedies. Therefore, this research aimed to determine the awareness of herbal safety among medical professionals in Sierra Leone.

Methodology: In this study, we used a cross-sectional survey of medical staff (n=309) working at three of Freetown, Sierra Leone's, leading medical centers between March and April 2022. The data analysis was performed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 28. We employed descriptive statistics to count instances of a category and assign a percentage. We used a backwards stepwise binary logistics regression to find significant associations between awareness and predictors at the 5% significance level (p0.05).

Results: Evidence from the study revealed that around 54.7% of respondents knew about herbal medicine safety. There is an association between the knowledge about drug-herbal interaction and the level of understanding, average observed risk (AOR) = 1.63; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00-2.66; however, no connection was found between years of experience and how well-known herbal remedies are safe, and finally, no association between the various departments and the level of understanding except for the outpatient department [Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 0.49; 95% Confidence Interval (CI):0.25-0.95].

Conclusion: Our findings reveal that medical professionals' knowledge concerning the security of herbal medicine in Freetown, Sierra Leone is unsatisfactory. Therefore, the regulatory bodies of the various healthcare cadre must promote standardised, coordinated education for all medical personnel to establish an effective pharmacovigilance framework for tracking herbal medication.

Keywords:  Health professionals, Herbal medicine, Safety, Sierra Leone.

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Published

2023-12-09

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 2 (2023): November-December 2023

Section

Original Articles

License

Submission of manuscripts to the Sierra Leone Journal of Biomedical Research is of the understanding that the article either in part or whole is not under consideration for publication in any other Journal. Accepted papers become the permanent property of Sierra Leone Journal of Biomedical Research but unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium is permitted, provided the original work is properly cited.