{
  "abstract": "Background: University students frequently self-manage common cold and influenza symptoms using herbal remedies, pharmaceutical treatments, or both. However, evidence regarding treatment preferences among Jordanian university students remains limited. Objective: To assess treatment preferences and factors associated with four outcomes: first-line treatment choice, timing of treatment initiation, response to perceived herbal treatment failure, and medication-obtaining behavior. Methods: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted in Jordan among 1,797 undergraduate students from 16 April to 16 September 2025 using a confidential, de-identified Arabic online questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression were used to evaluate the four outcomes. Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were reported. Results: Combined therapy was the most common first-line choice (44.5%), and 42.5% initiated treatment on the same day. Female participants had higher odds of preferring combined therapy than males (aOR = 2.55, 95% CI: 1.64–3.96; p < 0.001), whereas medical-field students had lower odds of same-day treatment initiation (aOR = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.42–0.72; p < 0.001). After perceived herbal treatment failure, 50.7% switched to pharmaceutical treatments; reliance on doctor-prescribed treatments was associated with lower odds of continuing herbal remedies (aOR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.27–0.51; p < 0.001) or combining herbal and pharmaceutical treatments (aOR = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.45–0.70; p < 0.001). Regarding medication-obtaining behavior, 28.2% purchased pharmaceutical treatments without a prescription based on personal experience, and medical-field students had higher odds of this behavior (aOR = 1.76, 95% CI: 1.39–2.23; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Treatment decisions reflected frequent combined self-care and were associated with sex, field of study, symptoms, prescription-related behavior, and treatment beliefs. Targeted health education may support more informed and rational self-care among university students.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Pediatrics, Family Medicine, and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan",
    "Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan"
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
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        0
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      "name": "Mohammad Al-magableh"
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        1
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      "name": "Abdulrhman H.M. Muhaisen"
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    {
      "name": "Rama M. Ateir"
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    {
      "name": "Shatha A. Abu_Eraq"
    },
    {
      "name": "Hanan O. Hamed"
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    {
      "name": "Sama M. Al Atoum"
    },
    {
      "name": "Reem Bani Amer"
    },
    {
      "name": "Soha S. AlShirah"
    }
  ],
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  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0358179",
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  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
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  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
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  "native_subjects": [
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      "/Medicine and health sciences/Medical conditions/Infectious diseases/Viral diseases/Common cold"
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    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Medical conditions/Infectious diseases/Viral diseases/Influenza"
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      "/Medicine and health sciences/Pharmaceutics/Drug therapy"
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      "/Medicine and health sciences/Pharmacology/Drug research and development/Drug discovery"
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  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-15",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
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  "title": "Herbal or conventional medicine? A cross-sectional study of Jordanian university students’ preferences for cold and flu treatment",
  "title_text": "Herbal or conventional medicine? A cross-sectional study of Jordanian university students’ preferences for cold and flu treatment",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:49Z",
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