Parental Traditional Medicine Use for Children: AI Qualitative Lens

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).

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).

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.

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.