Assessing herbalists' knowledge on herbal medicine

ABSTRACT

To assess the herbalists' knowledge about characteristics of herbal medicine in Tehran, Iran. A questionnaire containing 52 false/true phrases was designed. 206 herbalists have been chosen by cluster random sampling [in 34 clusters] and were interviewed by 5 educated interviewers. Total score of herbalists' knowledge was 48.8 +/- 2.02. The knowledge regarding the 'drug preparing methods' was the highest [71.8%] and minimum score was related to 'morphology of herbal drugs' [34.3%]. There was a positive correlation between years of experience and total scores [P = 0.008, Spearman's p = 0.19]. Total scores in college-educated people were significantly higher than other groups [P < 0.001]. The scores for people who were participated in 'educational courses' was significantly higher than who reported 'mentorship training' or other methods as their training methods [P = 0.009]. The results of this study showed the inadequacy of knowledge of some herbalists about herbal medicine. Improving herbalists' knowledge by educational interventions and monitoring their work by the health administrator organizations would be effective in improving the quality of herbalists' services and making the use of herbal medicines much more logical