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June 26, 2026
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Abstract

Background and Objectives: Herbal medicine use is growing globally, and pharmacists play a crucial role in ensuring its safe and effective application. This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of community pharmacists toward herbal medicine in Erbil City, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.


Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 community pharmacists in both public and private pharmacies between December 2024 and February 2025. Data were collected using a validated self-administered questionnaire via Google Forms and hard copies. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 27, with a p-value ≤ 0.05 considered significant.


Results: Most participants were female (69%) with an average age of 28 years; 62.5% worked in private pharmacies. Overall, 41.5% of pharmacists demonstrated fair knowledge, 30.8% poor knowledge, and 27.8% high knowledge of herbal medicine. Gender and income were significantly associated with knowledge levels (p < 0.05). Nearly half of the participants (48.3%) exhibited poor practice toward herbal medicine use, and personal use was significantly associated with better practice (p = 0.016).


Conclusion: Pharmacists in Erbil showed limited knowledge and suboptimal practice concerning herbal medicine, particularly regarding herb–drug interactions. Targeted training programs and stronger regulatory frameworks are essential to enhance pharmacists’ competence and ensure safe patient counseling.

Keywords

Herbal medicine Community Erbil Training pharmacists Knowledge Practices

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Copyright (c) 2026 Zina Abdulkhaliq Rasheed, Kameran Hassan Ismail

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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