This post explains the prevalence, drivers, and disclosure behavior behind parental traditional medicine use for children, framed for qualitative researchers and public health teams. The primary keyword is parental traditional medicine use for children. The post synthesizes a mixed-methods study from PLOS ONE and shows how AI-enabled qualitative research can turn interview transcripts and survey data into policy-ready insights.
Key Takeaways
The core finding: according to the PLOS ONE study (Kebede et al., published 30 July 2026), 824 of 941 parents (87.6%) reported using traditional medicine for their children during data collection from December 1, 2023 to March 1, 2024.
- Sample and timing: the study surveyed 941 parents with data collected between December 1, 2023 and March 1, 2024 and the article was published on July 30, 2026.
- Prevalence and behaviors: 87.6% of parents used traditional medicine for children, 90.6% reported concomitant use with conventional drugs, and 98.1% did not disclose TM use to health workers, according to PLOS ONE.
- Determinants and effect sizes: the PLOS ONE multivariable model reported parental self-use (AOR 6.55, 95% CI 1.67–25.69, p<0.05) and perceived TM safety/efficacy (AOR 4.53, 95% CI 2.3–13.61) as strong positive predictors in March 2024.
- Qualitative depth: the PLOS ONE interviews (n=16) described preparation, dosing by experience, and barriers to disclosure including fear of judgment from health care providers.
What happened: summary of the study methods and measures
Answer: a community-based concurrent mixed-methods study measured prevalence, determinants, and lived practices of parental traditional medicine use for children in Dire Dawa, Eastern Ethiopia.
According to the PLOS ONE article (Kebede et al., 2026), the quantitative arm randomly sampled 941 parents (response rate 98.02%) with data collection between December 1, 2023 and March 1, 2024 and used Epi-Data and Stata for logistic regression.
According to the PLOS ONE article, the qualitative arm conducted 16 in-depth interviews and used inductive thematic analysis to capture preparation, storage, dosing, knowledge transmission, and reasons for non-disclosure.
Measurement details: the PLOS ONE study defined TM broadly (herbs, religious therapy, massage, bone setting), reported routes (75.2% oral), and tested associations with adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and 95% confidence intervals.
Findings snapshot
| Date / Period | Metric (from PLOS ONE) | Value | Implication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 1, 2023; Mar 1, 2024 | Sample size | 941 parents (response rate 98.02%) | Large community sample gives weight to prevalence estimates |
| Data collection period | Parental TM use prevalence | 824/941, 87.6% | Traditional medicine was used by nearly 9 in 10 parents |
| Published Jul 30, 2026 | Concomitant use with conventional drugs | 614/678 who attended facilities, 90.6% | High risk of herb–drug interactions and masking of symptoms |
| Published Jul 30, 2026 | Non-disclosure to health workers | 98.1% of parents did not report TM use | Clinical history taking missed TM in nearly all visits |
| Multivariable results (reported) | Parental self-use effect size | AOR 6.55, 95% CI 1.67–25.69 | Parents who use TM themselves strongly predict child TM use |
Implications for qualitative researchers and public health teams
Answer: the PLOS ONE findings change how researchers should collect and code TM data, by prioritizing non-judgmental probes, capture of concomitant use, and documentation of preparation/dosing practices.
According to the PLOS ONE study, 98.1% non-disclosure and 90.6% concomitant use indicate that standard clinical notes and short surveys miss critical TM practices; qualitative probes uncover preparation, storage, and indigenous transmission.
Practical decisions for field teams: code for caregiver self-use, accessibility, perceived efficacy, and religion because the PLOS ONE multivariable model identified these as significant determinants (for example, perceived safety/efficacy AOR 4.53).
Ethics note for researchers: when analyzing TM practices in children, findings are research-focused and non-diagnostic; include safeguards and clear consent language as in the PLOS ONE protocol (Dire Dawa University IRB clearance, May 15, 2023).
How Evidano helps: AI mappings for qualitative and mixed analysis
Problem: High-volume, multi-source qualitative data needs rapid synthesis
Answer: researchers need fast, reproducible thematic maps linking quotes to survey metrics to inform policy.
Evidano is an AI-powered qualitative data analysis platform that helps researchers analyze interviews, open-ended surveys, and documents.
Evidano feature match: upload transcripts and open-ended survey responses, then run thematic and frequency analyses to extract themes such as 'non-disclosure' and 'concomitant use' at scale.
Problem: Quantitative associations need qualitative context
Answer: teams need to link AORs and CIs to interview evidence that explains why the association exists.
Evidano feature match: pair thematic coding with cross-segment analysis so you can show that parents who reported self-use (quantitative AOR 6.55 in PLOS ONE) also narratively describe habitual family practice in interview text.
Problem: Manual transcription, translation, and PII redaction slow analysis
Answer: time-consuming transcription and translation delay insight during fast-moving public health events.
Evidano feature match: use automated transcription and translation with custom dictionaries and PII redaction, then immediately run thematic extraction and co-occurrence networks to visualize links between 'herb dosing', 'accessibility', and 'non-disclosure'.
For more on those capabilities see the Evidano features page.
FAQ: parental traditional medicine use for children
How common was parental traditional medicine use for children in the Dire Dawa study?
Answer: it was very common, 87.6% of surveyed parents reported using TM for their children.
According to the PLOS ONE article (Kebede et al., 2026), 824 of 941 parents (87.6%) reported TM use during the December 2023–March 2024 data collection.
Which TM types and routes were most frequent?
Answer: herbal products were most frequent (67.1%), taken mainly by mouth (75.2%).
According to the PLOS ONE study, 699 of the participants (67.1%) used herbal products and 708 (75.2%) reported oral administration.
Why did parents not tell health care providers about TM use?
Answer: the study found fear of negative judgment, lack of awareness of interactions, and that HCPs did not ask were main barriers.
The PLOS ONE interviews and survey data reported that many parents felt HCPs were judgmental and 554 of respondents (81.8%) said HCPs did not ask about pre-hospital TM use.
Can AI help surface dosing and storage practices from interview transcripts?
Answer: yes, AI-enabled thematic extraction can identify and quantify mentions of dosing heuristics and storage practices across transcripts.
According to the PLOS ONE qualitative data, parents and herbalists described dosing by estimation and storage in clay pots or bottles; AI coding can tag those phrases and report frequency and co-occurrence with outcomes.
Conclusion & Next Steps
Answer: the PLOS ONE mixed-methods study (Kebede et al., 2026) shows extremely high parental traditional medicine use for children, widespread concomitant use, and near-universal non-disclosure to clinicians, and qualitative detail that explains dosing, storage, and knowledge transfer.
According to the PLOS ONE article (published July 30, 2026), these findings call for integrated TM policy, better clinical history taking, and community education.
Direct quotation from the study: "nearly 9 out of 10 parents had used TM for their children during COVID-19, " (Kebede et al., PLOS ONE, 2026).
If your team collects interview transcripts, open-text survey responses, or needs cross-segment comparisons that link AORs to interview evidence, an AI-assisted workflow will compress weeks of manual synthesis into hours.
Get started with an AI-first qualitative trial: Try Evidano for free.