This post analyzes parental traditional medicine use for children through the lens of AI-enabled qualitative research, focusing on the PLoS One mixed-methods study in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia. According to the PLoS One study (published July 30, 2026), 87.6% of 941 surveyed parents reported using traditional medicine for their children during the COVID-19 era. Evidano is an AI-powered qualitative data analysis platform that helps researchers analyze interviews, open-ended surveys, and documents. This article gives researchers a concise synthesis of the study design, key numbers from December 01, 2023 to March 01, 2024, verbatim participant quotes, and practical steps for using AI tools to extract themes, quantify disclosure and concomitant-use patterns, and prepare reproducible evidence for policy and clinical teams.
Key Takeaways
According to the PLoS One study (published July 30, 2026) the prevalence of parental traditional medicine (TM) use for children in Dire Dawa during the study period was 87.6% among 941 respondents, with a 98.02% response rate (941 of 960 sampled), and the qualitative arm interviewed 16 key informants (PLoS One).
- 87.6% prevalence of parental TM use for children was reported in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia (study period: December 01, 2023–March 01, 2024), according to PLoS One (July 30, 2026).
- 90.6% concomitant use of TM and conventional drugs and 98.1% non-disclosure of TM use to health workers were reported in March 2024 follow-up data, according to PLoS One (July 30, 2026).
- Among 941 participants, 67.1% used herbal products and 27.7% used religious/prayer therapies for children, with 71.9% later visiting health facilities after TM failed to improve the condition, according to PLoS One (July 30, 2026).
- Adjusted associations included parental self-use of TM (AOR 6.55, 95% CI 1.67–25.69) and perceived safety/efficacy of TM (AOR 4.53, 95% CI 2.3–13.61), findings reported in PLoS One (July 30, 2026).
What happened and how the study was done
The study used a community-based concurrent mixed design conducted from December 01, 2023 to March 01, 2024 to measure parental TM use for children in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, according to PLoS One (published July 30, 2026).
The quantitative component sampled 960 households and achieved 941 completed interviews (98.02% response rate), and the qualitative component conducted 16 in-depth interviews with parents and TM practitioners, as reported in PLoS One (July 30, 2026).
The quantitative data were entered in Epi-Data and analyzed in Stata with multivariable logistic regression reporting adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95% confidence intervals, and the qualitative data were transcribed, translated, and coded using inductive thematic analysis, according to PLoS One (July 30, 2026).
Key operational measures included parental report of TM use (Yes/No), TM types (herbal, religious, massage, bone setting), concomitant use with conventional drugs, and disclosure to health care providers, as defined and measured in PLoS One (July 30, 2026).
Findings Snapshot
| Date / Period | Metric | Value | Implication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 01, 2023 – Mar 01, 2024 | Quantitative sample size | 941 completed interviews (response rate 98.02%) | High data coverage supports prevalence estimates (PLoS One, July 30, 2026) |
| Study published Jul 30, 2026 | Prevalence of parental TM use for children | 87.6% | Nearly 9 in 10 parents used TM; research should capture common practices and risks (PLoS One, July 30, 2026) |
| During study period | Concomitant use (TM + conventional drugs) | 90.6% | High potential for herb–drug interactions; track concomitant patterns in qualitative coding (PLoS One, July 30, 2026) |
| During study period | Non-disclosure to healthcare providers | 98.1% of parents who visited health facilities did not disclose TM use | Non-disclosure is pervasive; design interview guides to elicit hidden behaviors (PLoS One, July 30, 2026) |
| During study period | Most used TM modalities | Herbal 67.1%, Religious/prayer 27.7% | Prioritize herbal product details, preparation, dosage, and storage in qualitative coding (PLoS One, July 30, 2026) |
Implications for qualitative researchers studying traditional medicine
Answer-first: Qualitative teams must design instruments that surface non-disclosure, concomitant use, and local dosage knowledge because PLoS One (July 30, 2026) found 98.1% non-disclosure and 90.6% concomitant use.
Researchers should code for preparation, storage, dosage heuristics, and knowledge transfer because PLoS One (July 30, 2026) reports that herbalists and families transfer practices orally, estimate doses by experience, and store herbs in powders, bottles, or clay pots.
Researchers must record context, speaker role, and verbatim language because PLoS One (July 30, 2026) used 16 in-depth interviews to generate nine themes including barriers to disclosure and reasons for concomitant use.
Ethics note: For clinical or safety claims, follow institutional review and pharmacovigilance guidance because PLoS One (July 30, 2026) documented adverse outcomes and cites studies showing pediatric risks; qualitative findings are for research and policy, not clinical diagnosis.
How Evidano helps AI-enabled qualitative teams
Problem: High non-disclosure and hidden concomitant use
Solution: Evidano automatically ingests interview transcripts and open responses and highlights mentions of undisclosed TM and concomitant drug use using thematic and co-occurrence detection.
Evidano is an AI-powered qualitative data analysis platform that helps researchers analyze interviews, open-ended surveys, and documents, and it supports transcription and PII redaction that accelerate safe handling of sensitive disclosures.
Problem: Diverse, localized terminology and multilingual data
Solution: Evidano provides customizable translation dictionaries and preserves local lexicon during translation so teams can reliably link local herb names and preparation terms to coded themes.
Researchers can use Evidano's translation features to maintain native terms for later validation with community experts.
Problem: Quantifying qualitative patterns across segments
Solution: Evidano generates thematic frequency tables, cross-segment comparisons (for example mothers vs siblings, urban vs rural), and visual co-occurrence networks so teams can quantify patterns like the AORs reported in PLoS One (July 30, 2026).
Use Evidano's features to export reproducible codebooks and visualizations for policy briefs and peer review.
Problem: Interview transcription and accurate quotes
Solution: Evidano's speech-to-text tools include custom dictionaries and PII redaction so teams can transcribe Amharic, Afaan Oromo, Af Somali, and Harari audio reliably before thematic coding as done in the PLoS One study (July 30, 2026).
FAQ: parental traditional medicine use children
What was the measured prevalence of parental traditional medicine use for children in Dire Dawa?
Direct answer: The study reported 87.6% prevalence of parental TM use for children in Dire Dawa during Dec 01, 2023–Mar 01, 2024.
Supporting detail: The quantitative sample included 941 respondents (98.02% response rate) and this prevalence estimate is published in PLoS One (July 30, 2026).
How common was concomitant use and non-disclosure in the study?
Direct answer: The study found 90.6% concomitant use of TM with conventional drugs and 98.1% non-disclosure of TM use to health workers among parents who visited health facilities.
Supporting detail: PLoS One (July 30, 2026) reports that 614 participants reported concomitant use and that the vast majority did not tell health care providers about pre-hospital TM use.
Which TM types and indications should qualitative instruments capture?
Direct answer: Capture herbal products, religious/prayer therapies, massage, bone setting, preparation methods, dosage heuristics, and storage practices.
Supporting detail: PLoS One (July 30, 2026) reports 67.1% herbal use and 27.7% religious therapy and documents themes on preparation (decoction, drying, powder), storage (airtight containers), and informal dosing rules.
Can AI help quantify themes such as non-disclosure and concomitant use?
Direct answer: Yes, AI-assisted qualitative platforms can both extract qualitative themes and produce frequency and cross-segment counts that complement regression results.
Supporting detail: The PLoS One team combined thematic analysis with logistic regression (AORs reported) and AI tools like Evidano replicate the thematic coding and add reproducible frequency and co-occurrence metrics for rapid reporting.
Conclusion & Next Steps
The PLoS One mixed-methods study (published July 30, 2026) found very high parental TM use for children in Dire Dawa (87.6%), high concomitant use (90.6%), and near-universal non-disclosure to health workers (98.1%), signals that qualitative teams must capture hidden practices, dosage heuristics, and social drivers.
Applying AI-enabled qualitative methods lets teams rapidly convert interview transcripts and survey text into thematic counts, cross-segment comparisons, and verbatim evidence for policymakers, as recommended in the study.
If your research team needs reproducible thematic coding, multilingual transcription, and cross-segment analytics for studies like the PLoS One Dire Dawa analysis, explore Evidano's capabilities and try it on your data.
Get started: Try Evidano for free.