Abstracts Health Sciences

Herb Users' Nondisclosure of Complementary-Alternative Medicine Use to Health Care Providers

by Justice Echezona Obiora

Various forms of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are increasingly being used in the United States and globally over time. Among CAM, natural products, including herbal medicines, are the most used type. However, the increase in the use of CAM has gone on with minimal or without a corresponding increase in the rate of disclosure of use to the health care providers. The theories of care-seeking behavior and the behavioral model of health services use guided most of the study. Data from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey were analyzed to determine the health factors that affect the nondisclosure of herbal medicine usage by respondents (N = 423) who used herbs as their first choice of CAM therapy. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a binary logistic model. About one quarter of herb users did not disclose their use of herbs to the health care provider. Nondisclosures were likely to be associated with herb users who also used homeopathy and those who used herbs to treat diseases that are usually short-term. The nondisclosure rate of the use of CAM, including herbal therapy, remains a recurring concern. As part of the practical implications, the study creates and supports the awareness of health factors associated with CAM and herbal medicine use nondisclosure issues that inform health professionals about mitigating the problem and improving health practice and medical consultations.