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- Title
Women's Perinatal Plant Knowledge: a Case Study on the Compilation and Secondary Analysis of Ethnomedicinal Data.
- Authors
Johns, Timothy; Sibeko, Lindiwe
- Abstract
Accumulating data on medicinal plant uses, accelerated by expanding ethnobotanical scholarship, electronic publishing, and computational tools, provide unprecedented opportunities for secondary analysis and hypothesis testing. Exploration of patterns beyond single ethnomedicinal use reports typically focuses on comparisons among taxa, human populations, or therapeutic indications, but also allows critical introspection on ethnobotanical practice and interpretations. Our investigations on plant knowledge and women's reproductive health consider implications for pluralistic health systems and understanding of human adaptation present and past. Here we focus on experiences in compiling and interpreting more than 29,000 plant use reports related to Africa, Asia, and Europe. In addition to emergent insights and hypotheses, we discuss: (i) challenges and limitations in extracting and interpreting information dispersed within more than 2000 publications, often cryptic in nature and variable in format and quality; as well as, (ii) refinement of compilation and analysis methods appropriate to defined objectives. Establishing data independence and delineation of inclusion criteria are critical for systematic review and ethnobiology-tailored meta-analyses. Although ethnobotany is characterized by relatively few quantitative tools, compiled data unlock opportunities for statistical approaches with multiple potential applications. Within the discipline, expanded dialogue on protocols for data collection and deposition, and ethical implications of secondary analysis, is warranted.
- Subjects
SECONDARY analysis; ELECTRONIC publishing; WOMEN'S health; SCHOLARLY method; MEDICINAL plants
- Publication
Economic Botany, 2024, Vol 78, Issue 1, p32
- ISSN
0013-0001
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s12231-023-09590-x