Abstract

Objectives

This study assessed traditional herbal medicine (THM) and conventional medicine (CM) utilization among participants with noncommunicable disease in South Africa.

Methods

A cross-sectional study of the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiological study collected data through face-to-face interviews using structured questionnaires in 2014. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate logistic regression were used to determine the effect of sociodemographic and economic factors on THM and CM use. All statistical analyses were conducted using the statistical computing and graphics language “R.”

Results

Of the total 417 randomly selected participants in this study, 85% were females, 95% with no health insurance, and 81% with monthly incomes of 95% confidence interval 0.17-0.97) less likely to pay for CM.

Conclusions

The cost of using THM and CM largely differed by age. The economic insight into this study reveals individuals more willing to pay for THM to payors, which can ultimately clue payors into areas for medication optimization from potential drug-drug interactions and adverse events and, therefore, reduce healthcare costs.