Disclosure of Herbal Medicine Usage in Diabetes Management: A Qualitative Study amongst Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients and Health Care Providers in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

Abstract

The use of herbal medicine (HM) and its products has significantly increased in the past decade. Type 2 Diabetes mellitus patients (T2DM) are always rendering herbal medicine as an alternative to the current option of treatment to manage their disease. This article is aimed to explore the extent of communication process of patients who disclose their HM usage to healthcare providers (HCPs) and HCP’s experiences in managing these patients. Purposive sampling method was applied in this qualitative study, which involved 28 respondents from four government clinics in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. A semi-structured interview was developed for the in-depth interview (IDI) and focus group interview (FGD). Both IDIs and FGDs were audio-recorded and conducted for approximately (40–60) minutes. The contents were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. The majority of T2DM patients did not reveal their HM usage due to fear of negative feedback, never been inquired by HCP and bad experiences after disclosure. Whereas, patients will disclose if they have a good rapport with HCPs and HCP asked patients courteously. However, HCPs reported that they did not discuss HM usage with patients due to limited knowledge, patients refuse to admit and time constraint to consult patients. Communication between T2DM patients and HCPs during consultation concerning the proper use of HM alongside modern medicine needs to be improved. Therefore, a better understanding factor of HM usage and its disclosure would make patients more open-minded to discuss and encourage HCPs to be attentive to avoid any potential adverse effects in HM usage.