Strategies to reduce barriers in reporting herbal use to the health-care provider among women of childbearing age in two communities in Ogun state, Nigeria

Background: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has increased tremendously in the past decades. Herbs in this study involved the use of plant products in their raw or cooked forms which have not been subjected to laboratory investigations for their safety and efficacy. Objective: To explore strategies to reduce barriers in reporting herbal use to the health-care provider among childbearing age women in two communities in Ogun state, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was used to explore strategies to reduce barriers in reporting herbal use to the health-care provider. The study population constitutes childbearing age women that attend two private hospitals and one comprehensive health center in two communities of Ogun state, Nigeria. Out of the 270 patients who were randomly sampled for the study, 250 agreed to participate (response rate: 92.6%). Results: The mean age of the participants was 29.3 years ± 5.5 and 77.6% were married. The majority (69%) had used herbal medicines in the last 6 months before seeking medical care, and 66% did not disclose the use of herbal medicines to health-care providers. Conclusion: Health-care professionals should routinely include herbal remedy category in the list of drug history when asking about the patient's drug. This will help identify herbal remedy use and assist to take precautions relating to safety. Patients and traditional birth attendants should be educated through community mobilization and educational programs about alternative medicines particularly herbal. The disclosure of CAM use and its adverse outcomes should be encouraged by health-care professionals