Practices and attitudes of herbalists regarding informed consent in Uganda: a qualitative study.

Autor: Nalubega S; School of Biomedical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. sumayanalubega45@gmail.com.; The AIDS Support Organisation, Kampala, Uganda. sumayanalubega45@gmail.com., Kutyabami P; School of Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda., Twimukye A; Infectious Diseases Institute, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda., Kaawa-Mafigiri D; School of Social Sciences, Makerere University , Kampala, Uganda., Sewankambo NK; School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: BMC medical ethics [BMC Med Ethics] 2024 Oct 04; Vol. 25 (1), pp. 106. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Oct 04.
DOI: 10.1186/s12910-024-01104-1
Abstrakt: Background: Informed consent (IC) is a fundamental principle in medical ethics that upholds respect for patient autonomy. Although widely applied in healthcare, its feasibility and implementation in herbal medicine have been underexplored. This study therefore aimed to explore the practices and attitudes of herbalists regarding informed consent.
Methods: To achieve these objectives, a qualitative cross-sectional study was conducted from June to December 2020. Twenty-one in-depth interviews with herbalists and four key informant interviews with leaders of the different traditional medicine organizations were conducted. The data were analyzed thematically using NVivo version 12 software.
Results: Sixteen of the twenty-one participants acquired oral herbal medicine knowledge from their relatives. Although a positive inclination toward obtaining IC was evident, the focus was on disclosing basic information. Discussions of alternative treatments and herbal specifics were less frequent. Disease management decisions often involve shared responsibility within families or societies. Documented IC procedures are rare among herbalists, who deem consent forms unnecessary, although they recognize the potential benefits of IC in fostering trust and professionalism. Challenges hindering IC implementation included regulatory gaps, inadequate skills, and the absence of mechanisms to protect the intellectual property rights of herbal medicine.
Conclusion: This study illuminates how educational, cultural, familial, and regulatory factors influence herbalists' practices and attitudes toward informed consent.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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