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6ER-001 Assessment of herbal and non-prescription drug use in an underserved patient population

ejhpharm · 2026-03-18 · canonical JSON source

7 visible annotations · policy: published · automated confidence ≥ 75.00%

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Background and Importance Understanding how herbal remedies and dietary supplements are used has been an important concern for public health for many years. Although the demographics of users in the United States are shifting, there remains a notable gap in research specifically addressing underserved groups.Aim and Objectives The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of herbal and non-prescription medication use in an underserved patient population.Material and Methods Data were collected from 1 January 2022, to 30 August 2024, from electronic medical records of patients attending a student-run free medical clinic. Each drug item identified in the records was classified such as vitamins, herbals, supplements, and additional groups of non-prescription medicines. The study also examined how frequently these medicines were used by gender and age groups, with statistical tests performed to determine any significant differences.Results A total of 640 incidents of herbal and non-prescription drug use were identified. The most widely used medicines were vitamins (28%), non-prescription pain medicines (23.8%), supplements and minerals (20.6%), gastrointestinal non-prescription medicines (10.9%), non-prescription allergy medicines (8.0%), and other non-prescription medicines. Female patients were more likely to use herbal and non-prescription medicine (79.5%) than male patients (20.5%). Herbal and non-prescription drugs used by females were 4.10 ± 3.48 per patient, whereas for males, it was 2.34 ± 1.94 per patient. Younger adults under the age of 40 years were less likely (18.9%) to use herbal and non-prescription medicines than older adults (24.1%) over the age of 60 years. Limitations of this research are that the student-run free clinic is visited more by females than by males.Conclusion and Relevance Individuals receiving care at student-run free clinics often rely heavily on herbal and non-prescription medications to manage their health on a regular basis. Commonly used products include vitamins, dietary supplements, and over-the-counter pain relievers. The data suggest that female patients and those aged between 41 and 60 years are especially likely to use these types of treatments within underserved populations.References and/or Acknowledgements 1. Sanchez ESS, Fernandez-Cerezo FL, Diaz-Jimenez J. Consumption of over-the-counter drugs: prevalence and type of drugs. Environmental Research and Public Health 2021;18:5530.Conflict of Interest No conflict of interest