KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE OF PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIANS TOWARD USE OF HERBS AS MEDICINE IN AL-WAZARAT HEALTH CENTER, PRINCE SULTAN MILITARY MEDICAL CITY, RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA

Introduction: Herbs are the second most commonly used form of complementary and alternative medicine by public. The uses of medicinal herbs continue to increase worldwide. However, clinicians generally have limited knowledge and confidence about using of herbs in medicine. Therefore, this research aimed to assess the level of knowledge and attitude of primary care physicians toward use of medicinal herbs in order to protect the patients from the harmful effects of herbal medicines by increasing the physicians’ awareness regarding it. Method: A cross sectional study, includes 102 primary care physicians at Al-Wazarat health center in Riyadh. Results: 82.4% of the physicians believed that herbs are beneficial for disease management and only 42.2% of them believed that herbs should be used only when conventional medicine fails. 16.7% of the participants suggested that further education about herbs in medicine should be provided to physicians. However, the practice of herbal medicine was low and the level of knowledge was also low as all physicians scored less than 6 correct answers out of 11. Conclusion: The study results emphasizes on the importance of initiating an educational program regarding herbal medicines to improve the physicians knowledge toward herbal medicines and eventually improve patients care.