Background
Methods
Research methodology and data collection method
Recruitment and participants
Focus group procedure
Data analysis
Trustworthiness
Results
Group No. | Age Group | Age Range (Years) | No. of Participants (Female/Male) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Young | 18–28 | 6 (2/4) |
2 | Young | 18–28 | 7 (4/3) |
3 | Middle-aged | 41–59 | 8 (5/3) |
4 | Middle-aged | 49–59 | 9 (9/0) |
5 | Elderly | 62–88 | 8 (3/5) |
6 | Elderly | 66–82 | 8 (5/3) |
Total | 18–88 | 46 (28/18) |
Participants
Aims of use
I try to eat healthily, but I do not take herbal medicine as a preventative care, for not becoming ill later. (FG No. 1).
Aims | Young (n = 13) | Middle-Aged (n = 17) | Elderly (n = 16) | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|
Promote health | – | – | 4 | 4 |
Prevent chronic or acute illness | 1 | 4 | 8 | 13 |
Treat chronic or acute illness | 12 | 18 | 19 | 49 |
Role of type of illness
Indication | N |
---|---|
Head and chest cold | 13 |
Flu infection | 7 |
Sleeping disturbances and restlessness | 6 |
Musculoskeletal issues | 6 |
Gastrointestinal problems | 4 |
Depression | 3 |
Insect bites/itching | 3 |
Allergies | 3 |
High Cholesterol | 2 |
Gynaecological/urological problems | 2 |
Dermatitis | 1 |
Immune system | 1 |
Mental function | 1 |
High blood pressure | 1 |
Tinnitus | 1 |
Blood glucose | 1 |
Summarising the aspects in the discussions related to the limits of HM and border to CM, the participants mentioned serious diseases (diseases such as cancer, asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), receiving treatment during and after operations, severe pain, and a fast recovery as important factors:In my family of six everyone is ill from time to time and, for this I always use plant medicine as a first treatment. (FG No. 3)
One of my sons is also ill (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder – Ed. note) and I have tried to use globules, plant remedies and many other things, because I refused synthetic drugs – this showed me that without synthetic drugs it actually does not work. However, if he has a cold or gastro-intestinal disease, he still gets something from my plant medicine chest. However, in the one specific case (of the chronic disease – Ed. note) it just did not work with anything that was tried, and then there is no other way. That is how it is, but it also convinced me of the synthetic route compared to plant medicine. It clearly showed me – stop, there is a limit. For this specific case, there is no way out. (FG No. 3)
So, I have two severe chronic illnesses, and for these two I believe there is no herb. For these you have to use real (medicine – Ed. note), whether one likes it or not. I already use teas, (…) for example to treat a bladder infection. (…) However, for real (heavy – Ed. note) diseases, I do not believe this to be so efficient. (FG No. 5)
Reasons for preferred use
I have suffered from neurodermatitis for several decades . Yes, the dermatologists prescribed cortisone for applying it to the skin. Cortisone, this makes the skin thinner, and the dermatologists, they provided me with a very bad prognosis, namely my skin will get thinner and the neurodermatitis will get worse and worse, and they felt sorry for me. During the holidays, one of my relatives gave me a book about folk medicine and there I read it, namely, that there is a plant for the skin, sarsaparilla was the name. I bought a special ointment in the pharmacy. I paid for it myself and used it for a while. It did me good. (..) and, for a long time, I have not had any problems. For decades now, I have not needed a dermatologist. This is, I believe, due to plant remedies. (FG No. 3)
The second most important reason for the use of HM provided in the FG discussions was a positive experience with using HM in the past, including treatment successes and a positive impact on health. This lead people to access HM again when needed, and to maintain this specific treatment approach:(…) and I realised that, after taking all those pills, I had very strong side-effects, and that these were even worse than the symptoms I had before. (FG No. 6)
Beyond the above-mentioned dissatisfaction with CM and positive experiences with HM in the past, in discussing reasons for the use of HM, participants mentioned several positive (‘healthy’) aspects and beliefs they associated with using HM: participants evaluated HM as being healthier, more natural, providing a higher tolerability, having few or no side-effects, showing an easier absorption of the ingredients by the body, and a better degradation. In addition to all these aspects, an apparent knowledge of the detailed contents of the HM played an important role for many participants. Being familiar with a plant, either because of knowing the name, or even because of cultivating the plant in the own garden, was said to provide a basis of trust for the users of HM. In contrast, when using chemically-synthesised drugs, participants discussed the issue that not knowing the contents lead them to distrust the treatment:In the past, I have always suffered from a cold. I tried a lot, nothing helped, but then I read about plant saps. When using a specific plant sap, for maybe two weeks or a month, then one can prevent such issues. I did it, and lo and behold, all my cold symptoms, which I had regularly four or five times each winter, with a heavy flu, suddenly became less pronounced! I only had these once a year instead. The next winter, I used preventative care again and passed the whole winter without having a single cold. It really helped fabulously and since then I am convinced. I have now used plant sap for six years whenever necessary and I can regulate my entire physical health, like blood-sugar and cholesterol or similar things. When a doctor checks my blood, then I immediately realise that it works. (FG No. 6)
The FG discussion also clearly demonstrated the important influence of tradition and family history on the motivation for using HM: long-standing traditions in families and knowledge regarding “what helps” were discussed as being handed-down generation by generation. After dissatisfaction with CM, positive experiences with HM and the positive aspects/beliefs, the traditional feature, i.e. “it has always been done this way” was the fourth most important reason for preferring HM as a treatment method:Between a drug that is made from a plant, or one which is synthetic, I would always decide for the herbal one, simply because one always knows where one stands. If one reads the package of different medicines, I know only very few of the ingredients. (..) I personally would still always prefer to try this (HM) first before taking any other remedy which I do not exactly know what it is. I would just trust more that it could help. Maybe it is also a placebo effect, but I prefer to take this into account rather than putting something into my body when I really do not know what it is and that it is chemically-made. (FG No. 2)
Well, I mean this actually started when we were still kids. If you were ill, then you just got your elderflower juice or lime-blossom tea and I mean they also just have an effect; this is something you take along with you when you get older, and for your own small children, before one always gives them strong medicine, one also tries the things learned from one’s own parents. (FG No. 3)
As a child, I learned from my grandmother what she learned from her grandmother. It started with the fact that even as a child, I also drank lime-blossom tea and mint tea. My grandmother always said that these are for the stomach and cough. During summer, the cold lime-blossom tea, then you will not get a cough and, during winter, a hot one, then the flu disappears. From this, I started to investigate further and now I just take everything (herbal – Eds. Note). (FG No. 4)
Sources of information
Sources | N |
---|---|
Book/magazine | 10 |
Parents/grandparents | 7 |
Medicinal expert | 7 |
Friends | 3 |
Education/information event | 3 |
Trial and error | 2 |