Behavior and readiness to use traditional medicine specified in the
fundamental primary health care project of medical personnel in
southern of Thailand
พฤติกรรมและความพร้อมในการใช้สมุนไพรตามโครงการสาธารณสุขมูลฐานของ
บุคลากรทางการแพทย์ ในจังหวัดภาคใต้ของประเทศไทย
Arunporn Itharat, Assoc. Prof., D. of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Botany,
F. of Pharmaceutical Sci., PSU.
Phechnoy Singchungchai, Assoc. Prof., D. of Ad. of Nursing Education and Nursing Service,
F. of Nursing, PSU.
Pakwipa Kuropakornpong, Pattalung Hospital, Pattalung
Narongsak Singpaiboonporn, D. of Pharmaceutical Ad., F. of Pharmaceutical Sci., PSU.
Pranee Ratanasuwan, Pattalung Hospital, Pattalung
Sopa Kummee, Pattalung Hospital, Pattalung
Published : Songkhla Med J 2000, 18(2) : 93-103
Key words : behavior, readiness, medicinal plant, medical personnel, southern Thailand
The research survey aimed to compare behavior and readiness in using medicinal plants in Southern Thailand and to examine the relationship of the following factors : the population society, economy, source of knowledge, types of hospitals, and readiness for the use of medicinal plants. The technique of cluster random sampling was used to proportionally sample 25 percent of each group of medical personnel, which totalled 540 subjects. In collecting the data, a questionnaire which was tested by three experts for its quality and content validity was used. The general data revealed that most of
the subjects were female (71.9%) in the age range of 21-30 years old (61.7%) mainly Buddhist (92.6%), mostly nurses (39.8%), followed by pharmacists (24.3%), public health officials (16.7%), physicians (15.4%) and dentists (3.9%). Most of the subjects were practitioners (59.8%) and were bachelor
degree holders (68.7%). The sources of knowledge on herbal medicine were books and journals (34.3%) and educational institutes (32.0%). Most of the subjects parents (86.1%) had used medicinal plants and most of the subjects (70.0%) had used medicinal plants personally. Fifty five point six percent (55.6%) of the subjects advised other people to use medicinal plants personally. At the time of the survey, 52.8% of the subjects no longer used medicinal plants. Of those, 18.0% stated the lack of reliable data on their use as a reason. Forty seven point two percent (47.2%) still used medicinal plants and 20.4% of these stated that they used them because they were available and can be planted. On analysing the data of behavior (knowledge and attitude) and readiness in using medicinal plants, it was found that only 6.7% of medical personnel had correct knowledge about medicinal plants and most of them knew correctly that Aloe vera could be used to treat burns and scalds. The attitude of medical personnel in using medicinal plants revealed a high score of positive attitude, over 81.7%. The medi-cinal plant products which they were ready to prescribe to their patients were Aloe vera cream, fragrant lemon grass cream and senna leaf tablets. The analysis of the relationship between behavior and readiness in using medicinal plants among different groups of medical personnel revealed that readi-ness to use medicinal plants in woman was higher than in men and the physician readiness to use medicinal plants was the lowest. In addition, the behavior in using medicinal plants depended on sex, occupation as physicians, position and the educational institute attended by the medical personnel. The categories of female, nurse and technician in the hospital had the highest behavior score of medicinal plant use but physicians and the hospital directors had the lowest score of behavior in their use. It is concluded that the principal factors of medicinal plant use in hospitals and the level of knowledge
about medicinal plant by the physicians and medical personnel. The physicians and the directors of hospitals should especially improve their knowledge of medicinal plants.Consequently, the curricu-lum for medical personnel training should include basic knowledge of medicinal plants.
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