Parental Traditional Medicine Use for Children: AI Qual Analysis

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.

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.

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).

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.

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