Görgülü Özkan (2020).

Journal of Traditional Medical Complementary Therapies, 3(3), 311-318., Doi:10.5336/jtracom.2020-74555

Abstract

Objective: In this study, it was aimed to investigate the frequency of herbal medicine (HM) use, the factors affecting the use of HM and from where information about the use of HM was obtained. Material and Methods: The study was conducted in the Eastern Mediterranean Region of Turkey. All data were gathered between the dates 01/Feb/2016 and 15/Feb/2017 through a survey developed by the researchers. Results: In the study where 956 people have participated, the frequency of HM use was determined to be 53.73%. A significant relation was determined between HM use and gender, marital status, place of birth, education, family income and working status (p0.05). The participants have specified that they use mostly Tilia sp. (13.2%) and 9.20% reported that they faced the adverse effect of HM use. Conclusion: As is the case in all over the world, it is determined that HM use is also prevalent in Turkey. To meet this increasing demand in HM consumption in a more controlled and secure way, the use of HM should be included in the national health system. Herbal medicine licensing and sales control should be done in accordance with the regulations published by Ministry of Health, Turkey Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency. In this sense, the only authorized institution should be Ministry of Health.