Behavioral preventive measures and the use of medicines and herbal products among the public in response to Covid-19 in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 15; no. 12; p. e0243706
• Main Authors: Ahmed, Iftekhar, Hasan, Maruf, Akter, Rahima, Sarkar, Bidduth Kumar, Rahman, Marufa, Sarker, Md Samun, Samad, Mohammed A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 11.12.2020; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Antibiotics; Antihistamines; Antimicrobial agents; Bangladesh; Bangladesh - epidemiology; Biology and Life Sciences; Calcium; Chronic illnesses; Consumer behavior; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - prevention & control; COVID-19 - psychology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dietary Supplements; Drug resistance; Drugs; Education; Epidemics; Female; Food; Forecasts and trends; Health Behavior; Health risks; Herbal medicine; Humans; Infection control; Internet access; Livestock; Male; Medical research; Medicine; Medicine and Health Sciences; Methods; Middle Aged; Pandemics; Paracetamol; Pharmacy; Plant Preparations - administration & dosage; Prevention; Psychological aspects; Purchasing; Questionnaires; SARS-CoV-2; Self Report; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Smoking; Social networks; Sociodemographics; Surveys and Questionnaires; Urban areas; Zinc; Bangladesh
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243706

The present study was conducted to assess the behavioral preventive measures and the use of medicines and herbal foods/products among the public in response to Covid-19. A cross-sectional survey comprised of 1222 participants was conducted from 27 June to 20 July 2020. Kruskal-Wallis test was used to identify the differences in behavioral preventive practices across different demographic categories. To identify the factors associated with the use of preventive medicines and herbal foods/products, multivariable logistic regression was performed. Most participants adopted the recommended preventive practices such as washing hands more frequently (87.5%), staying home more often (85.5%), avoiding crowds (86%), and wearing masks (91.6%). About half of the smokers reported a decreased rate of smoking during the pandemic. Also, 14.8% took medicines, 57.6% took herbal foods/products, and 11.2% took both medicines and herbal foods/products as preventive measure against Covid-19. Arsenicum album, vitamin supplements, and zinc supplements were the most commonly used preventive medicines. Gender, age, and fear of Covid-19 were significantly associated with the use of both preventive medicines and herbal foods/products. For the management of Covid-19 related symptoms, paracetamol, antihistamines, antibiotics, and mineral (zinc and calcium) supplements were used most often. Most participants sought information from non-medical sources while using medicines and herbal products. Moreover, potentially inappropriate and unnecessary use of certain drugs was identified.