Treatment of COVID-19 with Herbal Medicines: Perceptions, Attitudes and Practices of Healthcare Professionals Students in Uganda

Abstract Background: Use of herbal medicine (HM) for the treatment and prevention of the coronavirus disease -2019 (COVID-19) has been reported worldwide. In this study, we aimed to assess the perceptions, attitude and practices of healthcare professionals (HP) students in Uganda concerning HM use in the management of COVID-19 illness.Methods: We conducted an online, cross-sectional study using quantitative methods among HP students across the 12 medical schools in Uganda. Undergraduate HP students aged 18 years and older, from 1st to 5th year of study, pursuing various programs were recruited. Blooms cut-off of 80% (score of ≥ 24 /30) was used to determine good perception and a positive attitude towards HM use. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine factors associated with HM use.Results: A total of 350 participants responded. Of this, 223 (63.7%) were male. The median age of all participants was 23 (IQR=19-56) years. Majority (n=234, 66.9%) were pursuing Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB). All participants reported awareness on HM use in the management of COVI-19. Fifty-four (15.4%) respondents had a good perception towards HM use, with students in their first year of study having 3-fold the odds of having good perception compared to those in their fifth year (aOR: 2.9, 95% C. I: 1.1-8.1, p=0.037). Participants pursuing Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPHAR) had 4.2-fold higher odds of having a positive attitude towards HM use compared to those pursuing MBChB (aOR: 4.2, 95% CI:1.8-9.9, p=0.001) and those in first year had 2.7-fold higher odds of having a positive attitude towards HM use compared to participants in fifth year of study. (aOR=2.7, 95% CI=1.2-6.3, p=0.019). Participants with positive attitude towards HM use (aOR=63.7, 95% CI=12.8-316.4, p<0.001), pharmacy students (aOR=2.6, 95% CI= 1.1-6.4, p=0.035), allied health program students (aOR=3.6, 95% CI=1.1-11.6, p=0.032), those with good perception (aOR=3.3, 95% CI=1.6-6.5, p<0.001) and positive attitude (aOR=2.7, 95% CI=1.2-5.9, p=0.013) were more likely to recommend use of HM in the management of COVID-19.Conclusion: Awareness of HM use was universal among the participants. However, despite a high proportion of the participants reporting negative perception and attitude towards HM use, at least one- third use HM when they had COVID-19.