| This study's purpose was to determine why Americans in Missouri choose herbal remedies in addition to and in place of conventional healthcare options. The study population included 58 herbal remedy-using consultants, subdivided two ways: as expert or nonexpert and then practitioner or consumer only. Interviews were used to collect free list and open-ended responses about herbal remedies, uses, qualities, information sources, and appropriate situations. Qualitative and quantitative analysis revealed salient herbs, uses, perceptions, and consultant motivations. Consultants listed 401 unique herbal remedies (369 plants, 11 animals, 12 derivatives, 3 fungi, 1 lichen, 5 minerals), 932 unique uses, 22 quality themes, and 28 Situation/Illness themes. Analyses revealed the following trends: Modern/Eclectic practitioners were most similar to European practitioners, but borrowed from multiple traditions. Many consumers cited that herbal remedies are natural (69%), safe, not chemicals (36.2%) and free of the side-effects of drugs (53.4%). Reasons cited for choosing herbal remedies over conventional medicine range from distrust of perceived failure of the conventional healthcare system, with 20.7% reporting that they took herbs to avoid doctors, to a desire for more holistic treatment and associations with older knowledge. Consultants were more likely to use herbal remedies in non-serious situations or to treat or prevent illnesses they do not feel are satisfactorily treated by Western allopathic medicine such as stress, aging, chronic disease, and impending future illnesses. This study suggests individuals are attempting a revitalization of their healthcare options as an adaptive strategy to better meet their perceived holistic healthcare needs.*; *This dissertation is multimedia (contains text and other applications not available in printed format). The CD requires the following system requirement: Adobe Acrobat. |
