The Relative Priority of Medicinal Plants, Herbal and Chemical Medicines by Consumers Based on Economic and Treatment Criteria: Case Study of Rasht District

Considering economic and therapeutic criteria, this study aims to determine the priorities of use of different types of medicine in Rasht District using AHP. The results showed that medicinal plants took the first priority in terms of cost; however, their accessibility is much lower than chemical medicines. Negative complications of chemical medicines are evaluated significantly more than those of medicinal plants and herbal medicines. On the other hand, the survival of medicinal plants is lower compared to the chemical medicines. Finally, weighted priority vectors of criteria with regard to the goal and the weights of the medicine groups with regard to each of the criteria were integrated to determine the final priorities of medicines. Despite the relatively high use of chemical medicines, these medicines and medicinal plants, with weights of 0.40 and 0.39 respectively, would not be significantly prioritized to each other. Based on the findings, it is necessary to persuade consumers to promote consumption of medicinal plants through awareness to the economic and therapeutic advantages of these beneficial medications