Highlights • 82.5% of all participants reported CAM use during the COVID-19 pandemic period. • 69.1% of CAM users intended it for COVID-19 infection prevention. • Commonly used CAM include vitamins, spiritual healing/prayer, minerals and herbals. • Age, sex and COVID-19 illness perception significantly predicted CAM use. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is widespread and has played critical roles in preventing infections, including previous coronaviruses. This study sought to document current practices in the use of CAM for the prevention of COVID-19 disease in Ghana. An anonymous electronic survey was conducted from February 1, 2021 to April 30, 2021. Data on demographic characteristics, basic clinical information, illness perceptions about COVID-19, and CAM use during the pandemic period were generated. While about 82.5% (986/1195) of the participants used CAM during the COVID-19 period, 69.1% (681/986) of CAM users intented it for COVID-19 infection prevention. Vitamin supplements (88.1%, 869/986), spiritual healing/prayer (23.3%, 230/986), mineral supplements (22.3%, 220/986), botanical/herbal medicines (22.2%, 219/986), and diet therapy (19.4%, 191/986) were the main types of CAM used. From the adjusted binary logistic regression model, current age (aOR: 1.03, 95%CI: 1.01–1.05), sex (aOR: 1.41, 95%CI: 1.02–1.95), participants’ perceptions of consequences (aOR: 1.10, 95%CI: 1.04–1.17), identity (aOR: 1.15, 95%CI: 1.06–1.25) and concerns about COVID-19 (aOR: 0.91, 95%CI: 0.85–0.97) were statistically significant predictors of CAM use. These results suggest the need for appropriate public health policy on COVID-19 and CAM use in addition to directing further research initiatives toward an optimized COVID-19 prevention scheme using clinically validated CAM treatments. Research to validate the clinical efficacy of these products, especially the herbs, for COVID-19 prevention while isolating lead compounds that could be optimized and used for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19 is also recommended.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, coronavirus, Side effects, Herbs, Perception, CAM use, 【초록키워드】 Treatment, public health, Coronaviruses, pandemic, therapy, COVID-19 pandemic, Sex, vitamins, Medicine, infections, COVID-19 infection, Research, age, Vitamin, predictor, disease, Critical, Clinical efficacy, demographic characteristics, identity, logistic regression model, Compound, clinical information, COVID-19 illness, participant, while, widespread, consequence, prevention of COVID-19, mineral, predicted, significantly, include, reported, addition, clinically, conducted, adjusted, statistically significant, 【제목키워드】 cross-sectional, Infection, utilization, complementary, National, prevention of COVID-19,