The Overview of Knowledge, Belief, and Side Effects of Using Herbal Medicines in South Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia

Abstract

The use of herbal medicine is growing especially with the recommendation to go back to nature. This survey aims to overview the public knowledge, belief, and side effects of using herbal medicines in South Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia. This is an analytic survey with a cross-sectional method and measured by questionnaires (n=414). Data analysis tests used are univariate and bivariate analysis. The result showed the majority of respondents had good knowledge of herbal medicines (63.3%) and a high belief in herbal medicines (72.2%). About 8.9% of respondents felt the side effect of using herbal medicine. The most side effect is digestive system disorders. In bivariate analysis, there was a correlation between gender (p=0.004) and job (p=0.013) with knowledge of herbal medicines and the correlation between age (p=0.007), gender (p=0.029), job (p=0.013), and education (p=0.001) with the belief of herbal medicines. Moreover, there was a correlation between the knowledge and belief of herbal medicine (p=0.001).