Abstract:

Objectives: Today, use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) methods is increasing rapidly. In this study,it was aimed to investigate sociodemographic characteristics of individuals using herbal therapy (HT) and the reasons of preferring this method. Materials and Method: In our study, a survey was carried out by face to face method, in a shop in İstanbul, where herbal products are sold, to the subjects who come to buy herbal products. Analysis were made in SPSS 16.0 version using frequency, Chi-square and Fisher's Exact Chi-square tests.  Results: In our study, 102 males (53.7%) and 88 women (46.3%) with a total of 190 people were included. 20 individuals (10.5%) aged 0-19 years, 86 (45.3%) of them were aged 20-39 years and 84 (44.2%) of them were between the ages of 40-90 years. Most people who use HT were young adults (20-39 years); 141 (74.2%)individuals have not consulted the doctor about using HT method and they have thought the doctors are against HT method. HT was used most commonly to loose weight (n=83, 43.7%,) and with the advice of other patients suffering from the same illness. All individuals using HT were pleased with the results and they reported that they could use other CAM methods (n:154; 81,1%). In our study, although the level of education was not a statistically significant (p>0.05) factor, herbal therapy was more preferred in highly educated individuals. Conclusion: Today, the use of HT is increasing. Creation of scientific data about HT for health professionals and education of health staff and medical school students about CAM will be eligible for the right use of CAM.

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