Prevalence of Complementary and Alternative Medicine use among Patients Attending the Arthritis Clinic at Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Arthritis is a group of over one hundred inflammatory diseases mainly affecting the joints. 
Conventionally, arthritis is managed using anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids, disease 
modifying antirheumatic agents and biologic disease modifiers. Owing to the chronic and 
life-changing nature of the disease, patients also use complementary and alternative 
medicine to manage the disease. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and practice 
of complementary and alternative medicine use among patients attending the arthritis clinic 
at a national referral hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study 
using semi-structured questionnaires to elicit responses from consenting patients. Among 
the 53 respondents recruited, most were female (81.1%, n=43). The prevalence of use of 
complementary and alternative medicine among arthritis patients was 49.1%, with 
majority using herbs or massage therapy. 61.5% of complementary and alternative 
medicine users did not disclose this fact to their primary physicians. These findings 
highlight the need for healthcare providers to be conversant with and discuss 
complementary and alternative medicine use with their patients.