Prevalence, Medicinal Plant Use and Its Factor Associated Among People in Banlung District, Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia

Abstract

Introduction: Medicinal plants remain widely used in many Cambodian communities, particularly in settings where traditional knowledge, cultural beliefs, affordability, and access to formal healthcare shape treatment choices. Understanding patterns of medicinal plant use is important for pharmacy, public health, and healthcare planning because traditional medicine may influence self-care practices, treatment-seeking behaviour, and medicine safety. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of medicinal plant use and identify associated factors among people in Banlung District, Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia.

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was employed to determine the prevalence and identify factors associated with the use of herbal medicine in Ratanakiri Province. The sampling methods were selected based on the experience of taking traditional medicine and the ongoing use of the medicine by the population at that site. A structured questionnaire used to collect data through face-to-face interviews. The questionnaire consisted of two parts: Socio-Demographic Data, and Medicinal Plant Use. Descriptive analysis to describe the data and Univariate analysis to determine the factors were associated with using the IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software program version 26.0.

Results: Among 109 respondents, 99.1% reported using medicinal plants. The most commonly reported preparations were mixed herbal remedies (15.6%), followed by Cananga latifolia (6.4%) and Curcuma longa (6.4%). Medicinal plants were most often used for gastritis (20.2%), joint pain (13.8%), childbirth-related conditions (8.3%), and common cold (4.6%). Just over half of respondents (51.4%) reported using medicinal plants only when ill, while 25.8% reported daily use. Significant associations were identified between religion and duration of medicinal plant use, and between gender and herbal-use experience (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Medicinal plant use was highly prevalent among respondents in Banlung District, highlighting the continued importance of traditional medicine in Cambodian community health practices. These findings suggest the need for further research on safety, effectiveness, and potential integration of traditional medicine knowledge with formal healthcare and pharmacy practice.