@article {Howell566, author = {Laura Howell and Komal Kochhar and Robert Saywell, Jr and Terrell Zollinger and Julie Koehler and Christina Mandzuk and Brittany Sutton and Javier Sevilla-Martir and Deborah Allen}, title = {Use of Herbal Remedies by Hispanic Patients: Do They Inform Their Physician?}, volume = {19}, number = {6}, pages = {566--578}, year = {2006}, doi = {10.3122/jabfm.19.6.566}, publisher = {The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine}, abstract = {Purpose: This study measured the knowledge and use of herbs among Hispanics and assessed their experiences when discussing herb use with their physician.Methods: Self-administered questionnaires were collected from 620 Hispanic patients seeking treatment in urban health centers.Results: Most (80.3\%) reported using herbs. Herb users were more comfortable speaking Spanish (91.9\% vs 80.2\%) and had been in the United States less than 5 years (47.0\% vs 29.4\%). More users considered herbs as drugs (60.5\% vs 39.6\%). Users were more aware that herbs could harm a baby if taken during pregnancy (56.4\% vs 36.0\%). The majority did not know the English name for 23 of the 25 herbs. A majority indicated their physician was unaware of their herb use. Few (17.4\%) responded that their physicians asked about herb use. Only 41.6\% thought their physician would understand their herb use, and 1.8\% believed their physician would encourage continued use. There were no significant differences between herb users and nonusers in their perception of patient-physician communication levels.Conclusion: Primary care physicians need to be aware that most Hispanic patients are likely to use herbs. It is important to initiate and encourage discussion of their patient{\textquoteright}s interest in and use of these therapies.}, issn = {1557-2625}, URL = {https://www.jabfm.org/content/19/6/566}, eprint = {https://www.jabfm.org/content/19/6/566.full.pdf}, journal = {The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine} }