1 research outputs found
Use of medicinal plants for COVID-19 prevention and respiratory symptom treatment during the pandemic in Cusco, Peru: A cross-sectional survey
Background
The burden of the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru has led to people seeking alternative treat-
ments as preventives and treatment options such as medicinal plants. This study aimed to
assess factors associated with the use of medicinal plants as preventive or treatment of
respiratory symptom related to COVID-19 during the pandemic in Cusco, Peru.
Method
A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted on general public (20- to 70-year-old)
from August 31 to September 20, 2020. Data were collected using a structured question-
naire via Google Forms, it consisted of an 11-item questionnaire that was developed and
validated by expert judgment using Aikenâs V (Aikenâs V > 0.9). Both descriptive statistics
and bivariate followed by multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to
assess factors associated with the use of medicinal plants for COVID-19 prevention and
respiratory symptom treatment during the pandemic. Prevalence ratios (PR) with 95% Con-
fidence Interval (CI), and a P-value of 0.05 was used to determine statistical significance.
Results
A total of 1,747 respondents participated in the study, 80.2% reported that they used medici-
nal plants as preventives, while 71% reported that they used them to treat respiratory symp-
toms. At least, 24% of respondents used medicinal plants when presenting with two or more
respiratory symptoms, while at least 11% used plants for malaise. For treatment or prevention, the multivariate analysis showed that most respondents used eucalyptus (p <
0.001 for both), ginger (p < 0.022 for both), spiked pepper (p < 0.003 for both), garlic (p =
0.023 for prevention), and chamomile (p = 0.011 for treatment). The respondents with
COVID-19 (p < 0.001), at older ages (p = 0.046), and with a family member or friend who
had COVID-19 (p < 0.001) used more plants for prevention. However, the respondents with
technical or higher education used less plants for treatment (p < 0.001).
Conclusion
There was a significant use of medicinal plants for both prevention and treatment, which
was associated with several population characteristics and whether respondents had
COVID-19