Herbal Use Survey in Primary Care Clinics:  A SPUR-Net Study

Principal Investigator:  Grace M. Kuo, Pharm.D.

Background:  This pilot study was conducted to survey primary care clinicians and patients regarding their use of and attitudes towards herbal supplements.  The results of the survey will be used to develop better educational materials for physicians and patients on the efficacy of herbal supplements and drug-herb interactions.

Three of the constituent members from Southern Primary-care Urban Research Network (SPUR-Net) participated in the study:

·         Baylor Family Medicine Clinic (BFM)

·         Harris County Hospital District Clinics (HCHD)

·         Kelsey-Seybold Clinics (KSC)

Data were collected from December 2002 through March 2003.  The survey gathered information on herbal usage and attitudes about herbal supplements in two parts:

·         HUS 1, which was designed for physicians; and

·         HUS 2, which was designed for patients.

Acknowledgements:
The investigators wish to acknowledge SPUR-Net research assistants Nancy Cheak, Jana Davis, Armandina Garza, and Joanne Wei for collecting data. We also want to thank Carol Mansyur, Lawrence Weiss, and Cai Wu of Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Family and Community Medicine, for their computer technical support and statistical analysis.