Health Awareness and Economic Dimensions of Medicinal Herb Consumption: An Interdisciplinary Perspective

Abstract

The use of medicinal herbs is playing an increasingly important role in natural health maintenance and prevention strategies, in line with European and global trends aimed at reducing lifestyle diseases through sustainable, low-risk means. The aim of the research was to explore the patterns of herbal medicine use among the Hungarian population using quantitative methods, based on a sample of 223 respondents. Cluster analysis identified four distinct consumer groups: minimally affected, committed intensive users, balanced users, and average interested parties. According to the results, attitudes towards medicinal herbs are overwhelmingly positive; strong social trust can be observed, especially in terms of safety. The standard deviation is low, with the majority of responses falling in the upper range of the scale ( ). The socio-demographic analysis (gender, age, place of residence, educational attainment) revealed statistically significant differences between the clusters, confirming that the use of phytotherapy is linked not only to health attitudes but also to social status. The Hungarian patterns fit well with the integrative approach preferred by the EU and WHO recommendations, which incorporates natural remedies into public health systems in a complementary manner. The practical application of the results is mainly evident in targeted health communication and regulatory development.