Herbal Medicine Usage among Patients Living with HIV on Antiretroviral Therapy. A Cross-Sectional Study.

Abstract

Objectives: 

We assessed the prevalence and factors associated with herbal medicine use among HIV/AIDs patients enrolled on ART in a rural health care facility in Western Uganda.

Methods:

198 consecutively sampled adult (≥ 18 years) HIV/AIDs patients enrolled on ART in a health facility in Western Uganda were considered. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on herbal medicine use. Data were entered in an Excel spreadsheet and transferred to SPSS ver 20.0 for analysis. Continuous variables were analyzed using means and standard deviation. Categorical data were analyzed using chi-square analysis at a 95% level of significance.

Results: 

The mean duration of ART use was 7.7 ± 5.2 years. Over half, 57.6% (114/198) of the respondents reported using herbal medicines. The sex of the participants was less likely to result in herbal medicine usage (COR=0.978, 95% CI 0.631-1.517). Furthermore, age was less likely to influence herbal medicine usage (COR=0.640, 95% CI 0.336-1.219). The majority, 62.6% (124/198) of the participants reported having ever missed taking their ART medication. Most of the participants, 85.9% (170/198) had HIV viral load below 1000copies/ml.

Conclusion: 

There is a high level of usage of herbal medicine among HIV/AIDs patients enrolled in care in health facilities in Western Uganda.

Recommendation:

Further studies should be conducted to determine the biochemical concentrations and interactions between herbal medicine and ART among people living with HIV.