Treatment of COVID-19 Using Home Remedies and Traditional Medicine: A Content Analysis Study

Hosseinabadi, Reza; Biranvand, Shoorangiz; Azizifard, Zahra

doi:10.22087/ijac.2022.479472.1021

Treatment of COVID-19 Using Home Remedies and Traditional Medicine: A Content Analysis Study

Document Type : Research

Authors

Reza Hosseinabadi ¹

Shoorangiz Biranvand ²

Zahra Azizifard ³

¹ Social determinants of health research center, Lorestan university of medical sciences, Khorramabad, Iran

² Social Determinants of Health Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran

³ 3. MSn, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran

10.22087/ijac.2022.479472.1021

Abstract

COVID-19 is a respiratory illness for which no specific medication or treatment has yet been identified. This study was conducted to explore people’s experiences of using home remedies to treat COVID-19 symptoms during the pandemic. This qualitative study, which adopted a content analysis approach, was conducted on 29 people in Khorramabad (Iran) from January to December 2021. The participants were selected using the purposive sampling method and interviewed in depth. The interviews continued until data saturation. After transcribing the interviews, they were analyzed using the Graneheim and Lundman method. After analyzing the collected data, 459 initial codes were extracted and classified into two categories: “experience of COVID-19” and “resorting to home and traditional remedies”. Each category had four subcategories. People use home remedies for COVID-19 prevention and treatment. Participants engaged in home remedies for various reasons, including beliefs in their efficacy, dissatisfaction with medical treatments, and prior personal and familial experiences with home remedies. Some treatments mentioned by participants in this study may not be referenced in other literature and require further investigation.

Keywords

COVID-19

Home Remedies

Traditional Medicine

Folk Medicine

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