A Study on the Prescription of Herbal Medicines by Physicians for the Elderly in Tehran
Objectives: The use of herbal medicine is one of the most widely used methods of complementary medicine around the world. Studies have shown that the elderly use a variety of herbal medicines and believe that these products are harmless due to being natural. This study aims to evaluate the amount of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | fas |
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University of Social Welfare & Rehabilitation Sciences
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Sālmand |
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| Online Access: | http://salmandj.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-2434-en.html |
| _version_ | 1797884332489048064 |
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| author | Malihe Saboor Ahmad Delbari Zhale Zandieh |
| author_facet | Malihe Saboor Ahmad Delbari Zhale Zandieh |
| author_sort | Malihe Saboor |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives: The use of herbal medicine is one of the most widely used methods of complementary medicine around the world. Studies have shown that the elderly use a variety of herbal medicines and believe that these products are harmless due to being natural. This study aims to evaluate the amount of herbal medicines prescribed by physicians for the elderly in Iran.
Methods & Materials: This is a secondary analysis study with a cross-sectional design. The study population consist of the paper prescriptions for all older adults in Tehran, Iran in 2020. Of these, 1591 paper prescriptions for older people aged >60 years referred to pharmacies in Tehran were selected by a cluster random sampling method. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (Mean, No. [%]) and inferential statistics (Chi-square test, independent t-test) in SPSS software, version 24.
Results: Out of 1591 prescriptions, 79(5%) contained herbal medicines. Laxatives, ginkgo, and ginseng were the most prescribed medicines. Chi-square test results showed the statistically significant relationship of the educational level of the elderly (P=0.018), having insurance (P=0.004) and polypharmacy (P=0.000) with the prescription of herbal medicines, but the gender and marital status of the elderly and the gender, age and work experience of the physicians had no significant relationship with the prescription of herbal medicines. The rate of herbal medicine prescription by general practitioners was 5.7% and by specialized physicians was 4.7%, but no significant relationship was found between them. Among the specialized physicians, infectious disease specialists prescribed the most herbal medicines (14%) followed by physical medicine specialists (12%) and orthopedics (9.2%). Chi-square test results showed a significant relationship between the expertise of physicians and prescription of herbal medicines (P=0.042).
Conclusion: The rate of herbal medicine prescription in Tehran city is low, but due to the interest of the elderly in herbal medicines, producing various herbal medicines with suitable forms and dosages and increasing the knowledge of physicians about these medicines can help increase the prescription of herbal medicines. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:05:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4fed3d7eca604cafb66404024f03c9c9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1735-806X |
| language | fas |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:05:50Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | University of Social Welfare & Rehabilitation Sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sālmand |
| spelling | doaj.art-4fed3d7eca604cafb66404024f03c9c92023-03-13T05:41:56ZfasUniversity of Social Welfare & Rehabilitation SciencesSālmand1735-806X2023-02-01174460471A Study on the Prescription of Herbal Medicines by Physicians for the Elderly in TehranMalihe Saboor0Ahmad Delbari1Zhale Zandieh2 Department of Geriatrics, University of Social Welfare Research Center on Aging, Tehran, Iran. Department of Geriatrics, University of Social Welfare Research Center on Aging, Tehran, Iran. Department of Geriatrics, University of Social Welfare Research Center on Aging, Tehran, Iran. Objectives: The use of herbal medicine is one of the most widely used methods of complementary medicine around the world. Studies have shown that the elderly use a variety of herbal medicines and believe that these products are harmless due to being natural. This study aims to evaluate the amount of herbal medicines prescribed by physicians for the elderly in Iran. Methods & Materials: This is a secondary analysis study with a cross-sectional design. The study population consist of the paper prescriptions for all older adults in Tehran, Iran in 2020. Of these, 1591 paper prescriptions for older people aged >60 years referred to pharmacies in Tehran were selected by a cluster random sampling method. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (Mean, No. [%]) and inferential statistics (Chi-square test, independent t-test) in SPSS software, version 24. Results: Out of 1591 prescriptions, 79(5%) contained herbal medicines. Laxatives, ginkgo, and ginseng were the most prescribed medicines. Chi-square test results showed the statistically significant relationship of the educational level of the elderly (P=0.018), having insurance (P=0.004) and polypharmacy (P=0.000) with the prescription of herbal medicines, but the gender and marital status of the elderly and the gender, age and work experience of the physicians had no significant relationship with the prescription of herbal medicines. The rate of herbal medicine prescription by general practitioners was 5.7% and by specialized physicians was 4.7%, but no significant relationship was found between them. Among the specialized physicians, infectious disease specialists prescribed the most herbal medicines (14%) followed by physical medicine specialists (12%) and orthopedics (9.2%). Chi-square test results showed a significant relationship between the expertise of physicians and prescription of herbal medicines (P=0.042). Conclusion: The rate of herbal medicine prescription in Tehran city is low, but due to the interest of the elderly in herbal medicines, producing various herbal medicines with suitable forms and dosages and increasing the knowledge of physicians about these medicines can help increase the prescription of herbal medicines.http://salmandj.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-2434-en.htmlherbal medicineagedprescriptionphysicians |
| spellingShingle | Malihe Saboor Ahmad Delbari Zhale Zandieh A Study on the Prescription of Herbal Medicines by Physicians for the Elderly in Tehran Sālmand herbal medicine aged prescription physicians |
| title | A Study on the Prescription of Herbal Medicines by Physicians for the Elderly in Tehran |
| title_full | A Study on the Prescription of Herbal Medicines by Physicians for the Elderly in Tehran |
| title_fullStr | A Study on the Prescription of Herbal Medicines by Physicians for the Elderly in Tehran |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Study on the Prescription of Herbal Medicines by Physicians for the Elderly in Tehran |
| title_short | A Study on the Prescription of Herbal Medicines by Physicians for the Elderly in Tehran |
| title_sort | study on the prescription of herbal medicines by physicians for the elderly in tehran |
| topic | herbal medicine aged prescription physicians |
| url | http://salmandj.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-2434-en.html |
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