Brianna Malecha, Department of Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, Gustavus Adolphus College, 800 West College Avenue, St. Peter, MN 56082 Course: LAS-399 Sponsor: Beatriz Torres

ResourcesDharmananda, Subhuti. Checking for Possible Herb-Drug Interactions. Institute for Traditional

Medicine. Sept. 2003. Web.

Hacker, Karen, et al. Barriers to health care for undocumented immigrants: a literature review. RiskManag Healthc Policy. 2015; 8: 175-183. Print.

Hispanics and Heart Disease, Stroke. American Heart Association. July, 2015. Web.

Ortiz, Blanca I., et al. Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Hispanics in the United States. The Annals of Pharmacotherapy. 2007; 41(6):994-1004. Print.

Stjernberg, L., et al. Age and gender effect on the use of herbal medicine products and food supplements among the elderly. Scand J Prim Health Care. 2006 Mar; 24(1):50-5. Print.

Whaley, Bryan B. Explaining Illness: Research, Theory, and Strategies. Lawrence ErlbaumAssociates, Inc.: Mahwah, NJ. 2000. Pg 257-280. Print.

Commonly Used Herbs by Hispanicsgarlic/ginseng/ginger/chamomile:

increase bleeding and blood pressure

sage/oregano/eucalyptus/aloe:interfere with anti-diabetics

Cultural Significance of HerbalMedication to Hispanics

30-80% of Hispanics rely on herbal medication in the US

Those more likely to use herbal remedies:Living in communities with a large Hispanic population

Women, the caretakers of the cultureChildren, subject to a mother’s care

Recent immigrants

Those less likely to use herbal remedies:Elderly, whose health is closely watched by physicians

Common Health Problems AmongHispanics

ObesityDiabetes

High Blood Pressure (Heart Disease and Stroke)

Abstract The purpose of this poster is to present findings of the investigations conducted in my independent study about Hispanics and Healthcare in the United States. I investigated the cultural significance of using herbs as a complementary or alternative medicine within various Spanish-speakingLatin-American and Caribbean countries, and how herbal medications interact with conventional drugs. I discovered that certain Hispanics are more likelyto use herbal medicine depending on their gender, age, and location due to their cultural backgrounds, and the most commonly used herbs by Hispanics cancause dangerous side effects for their most prevalent health problems like heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. Up to 80% of the Hispanic population in theUnited States is at risk for dangerous herb-drug interactions because doctors and patients rarely communicate about the use of herbal medicine even thoughherbal remedies interact with drugs just like other drugs or foods might. Until recently, doctors and scientists failed to recognize the cultural importance ofherbal medicine among Hispanics. This lack of cultural understanding has been putting a large portion of the population at risk for the potential dangers ofherb-drug interactions.

TheCulturalSignificanceofHerbalMedicinetoHispanicsanditsMedicalImplicationsintheUS

Figure 1. An example of a diagram that would be given to medical students around 15 years ago regarding herb-drug interactions. Information is minimal as not much research on the topic had been done up to that point. Cultural significance of the use of herbs as complementary and alternative medicine was not acknowledged. Image was taken from the site www.itmonline.orgnoted in the resources.

Figure 2. Potential herb-drug interactions between commonly used herbs and commonly utilized drugs. Clinical effect or potential side effects are also noted. This is likely something that medical students would receive based on some of the initial herb-drug interaction research around the year 2000. Information was limited to “potential interactions” rather than concrete knowledge that some research has found today.