Knowledge, Attitude, Perception of Biological Science and Healthcare Professional Students to Complementary and Alternative Medicine Health Belief and Practice in Southeastern Region of Bangladesh: A Comparative Study (2025)

General perception and self-practice of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among undergraduate pharmacy students of Bangladesh

BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 2017

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is a combination of herbal medicine, traditional therapies, and mind-body intervention. This descriptive study was designed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, perception and self-use of CAM among Bangladeshi undergraduate pharmacy students. The study also evaluated their opinions about its integration into the pharmacy course curriculum. It was a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study conducted on 250 pharmacy students of five reputed public universities of Bangladesh. This study revealed that majority of the pharmacy students were using or had previously used at least one type of CAM. Among the students, 59% had used homeopathy followed by Ayurveda (30%), meditation (29%), massage (13%), Unani (9%), yoga (6%) and acupuncture (2%). Students' attitudes towards CAM were influenced by family and friends, books and journals, the internet and to a lesser degree by health practitioners. A significant (p < 0.05) number of students ha...

KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE OF COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS IN IMAM ABDULRAHMAN BIN FAISAL UNIVERSITY, DAMMAM, KSA 2019

Abdulrahman almehrij, Fawaz almulhim, Mohamed Ali Alamin, Areej althebaiti, Ghada alyousif

Background: Complementary and Alternative medicine (CAM) has been outlined as a 'cluster of numerous medical and health care systems, practices and merchandise thataren't presently thought of to be a part of conventional medicine.' In the last decade, there has been a global upsurge in the use of CAM in both developed and developing countries. Methods: The study included medical students in imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University in Dammam 2019. The self-administered survey was adapted from previous studies. SPSS was used to analyse data. Results: The total number of respondents was 344 students of them 42.8% were males and 57.2% were females. About 18% of the respondents agreed (or strongly agreed) that CAM is a risk to public health, while 47% disagreed (or strongly disagreed) to this statement. More than 60% of the respondents agreed that CAM and modern medicine should be integrated. Significant positive association between age and perception of CAM as a risk to public health (p=0.004). Conclusion: We found that most of the students exhibited confidence in CAM not being a threat to the public health. Significant association could be noted between the age, academic year of students, and their acceptance of CAM as a safe option for public health. Students were likely to accept and promote CAM originating from religious background.

Knowledge, Attitude and Perception of Undergraduate Health Science Students towards Complementary and Alternative Medicine: A Cross-Sectional Study in Nepal

Annapurna Journal of Health Sciences

Introduction: Apparently, Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is a recognized medical practice that precisely makes use of multiple treatment therapies and techniques in the prevention and management of variety of human disorders. Having a glance at the future, health science students belonging to different universities would take the leadin hospitals and health centers thus this study aims to analyze the level of knowledge, attitude and perception of them towards CAM in Nepal, also aims at awaking students about CAM therapies, related side effects, risks and possible complications. Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was organized by enlisting 385 undergraduate students, pharmacy(107) and non-pharmacy (278) which encompasses demographic characteristics, source of information, knowledge, attitudes and perception towards CAM. Results: Report indicated that predominance of students had good knowledge regarding homeopathy (Pharmacy:81.3%, NP:71.9%, P-value:0.044), her...

Knowledge, attitude and practice of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among selected adult Bangladeshi population

International Journal of Advanced Research and Development, 2018

Background: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), includes a wide range of approaches such as herbal medicine, traditional therapies, mind-body intervention, etc. Although CAM is a common practice in India, it is not being integrated into the conventional medical system. There is a paucity of data regarding the usage and acceptance of CAM by patients. Objective: The aim was to determine the knowledge, attitudes, and practice toward CAM among patients and to correlate these findings with their demographic and professional characteristics. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, questionnairebased survey conducted in 100 patients attending outpatient department of a tertiary care teaching hospital. Results: Among the respondents, 79.0% were aware of CAM and 46.0 used it. Most common system used was Ayurveda (71.73%), and most common ailment for which it is used was arthritis (30.43%). Majority consulted quacks (43.47%); physicians (23.91%), friends and relatives (19.56%), and 15.21% took CAM as a self-medication. Thirty percent felt that CAM was based on scientific evidence, 25% felt it was safer than modern medicine that is significantly more in women when compared to men. Twenty-five percentage opined that CAM is more efficacious than modern medicine that is significantly more in respondents >40 years age. The most common advantages reported were complete cure, easy availability and no side-effects, whereas disadvantages include food restriction, expensive medication, symptomatic relief and effective for limited diseases. Conclusion: Majority of patients use CAM along with modern medicine without physician's advice. Hence, healthcare professionals should be aware of this while taking clinical history and treating patients that may reduce drug interactions due to use of CAM particularly in the elderly population.

Perception and utilization of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among University of Sharjah (UOS) students

Bulletin of Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, 2019

Background: Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is a term used for practices and use of products other than conventional standard evidence-based medical care. Objective: To assess the CAM knowledge and utilization among University of Sharjah students, UAE. Method: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted. 250 surveys among UOS students were distributed. The data was obtained through a well-designed questionnaire of 3 main categories. The first part was designed to collect socio-demographic data, while the second part mainly measured CAM knowledge and the practicing pattern. The last section was developed to assess CAM beliefs and psychological behavior behind CAM utilization. Results: 214 participants agreed to participate (response rate 85.6%), and 81% reported their belief in CAM as medical therapy. The reason behind their belief in CAM was due to efficacy (37%) and safety (21%). Approximately 74% of participants claimed their CAM knowledge, and the most frequently used CAM therapy was cupping. Most participants (47%) gained their knowledge from regular courses offered by UOS. Around 33% of the participants consult their physicians before utilizing CAM therapy. However, 42% utilized CAM by unlicensed practitioners. Conclusion: Obtained results indicated the high level of CAM knowledge among UOS students in particular females while cupping being the most frequent used CAM therapy. The main reasons justifying the use of cupping was religion, and cultural-based. The lack of sufficient scientific data and the minimal link between the physician and the consumers were the main obstacles attributed to the limited use of CAM.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Knowledge and Attitude of Medical Students of the UniKL-RCMP, Perak, Malaysia

Introduction: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is widely used in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of an extensive range of ailments from ancient days. The booming popularity of CAM among people all over the world had influenced this research evaluating the knowledge and attitude of the medical students in UniKL RCMP. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the first three years of medical students in UniKL-RCMP using questionnaires designed to assess their knowledge and attitude towards CAM therapies in Malaysia. Results: UniKL RCMP medical students possessed high knowledge on massage, acupuncture and homeopathy compared to other assessed CAM therapies. Overall, the students had the positive attitude towards CAM modalities. Conclusion: Integration of CAM in medical curriculum will be a measure to increase the knowledge and gain positive attitude towards CAM among medical students as the country is looking forward to the integration of CAM with conventional medicine in the health care system.

Awareness, Self-Use, Perceptions, Beliefs, and Attitudes toward Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM) among Health Professional Students in King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2020

Background. Around 75% of the world’s population relies on the use of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) for their healthcare. Thus, we aimed at assessing the attitude and perception of health professional students about CAM and correlate the results with their demographical data. Methods. An observational cross-sectional study was conducted at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, by enrolling 350 students. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was performed using SPSS. Results. Results of our data suggested that majority of students were aware of the CAM modalities and considered prayers/spirituality (83.6%), massage (72.5%), nutritional supplements (74.1%), cupping (68.5%), herbal medicine (66.2), and yoga (61.6%) as most effective and least harmful CAM modalities. The students acquired more information about CAM from media (55%), books (56%), fr...

Perception of complementary and alternative medicine amongst medical students: a questionnaire based study

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) includes herbal medicine, traditional therapies, mind-body intervention etc. As the use of CAM by patients is increasing, ignorance about this by future medical practitioners can cause a communication gap between them and their patients. There is paucity of information regarding the usage and acceptance of CAM by the medical students. To determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of CAM in medical students. A cross sectional, questionnaire based study conducted in 158 medical students of a tertiary care teaching hospital. Among the respondents 74.68 % had used meditation/yoga followed by spirituality (55.69 %), homeopathy (51.26 %), ayurveda (37.97 %). Maximum students (94.29 %) had positive, while 3.79% had negative attitudes towards CAM. The responses for CHBQ (CAM-Health Belief Questionnaire) statements were towards the higher end of the response scale but lower scores were found in reverse scaled statements. The highest mean item score was for ‘Knowledge about CAM is important to me as a student/future practicing health professional.’ The lowest mean item score was for ‘Complementary therapies are a threat to public health’. Students are not ready to accept the therapies which are not tested scientifically. Female students were having significantly stronger positive attitudes toward CAM than their male counterparts. Majority of the respondents use CAM and would like to recommend it to their patients in future. They would prefer scientifically tested alternate medicines. Females were found to have significant stronger positive attitudes toward CAM than their male counterparts. Key words: conventional medicine, CAM, meditation, spirituality

Knowledge and Attitudes towards Complementary and Alternative Medicine among Senior Medical Students in King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia

Objectives. This study assessed the knowledge and attitudes regarding complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in medical students in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, it evaluated their views on the incorporation of CAM in their medical syllabus. Methods. The study was conducted by selecting a cross-sectional sample of senior medical students in the Faculty of Medicine. A validated and reliable self-administered questionnaire was used to explore the knowledge, attitude, and benefits of CAM. It was distributed to a sample of 273 students. Results. The study included 242 students, making the response rate 88.6%. Only two-thirds of students (62.4%) were aware of acupuncture principles and only 17.4% recognized that chiropractic is associated with pain management. The knowledge of common herbs such as St. John's Wort, Echinacea, and Ginkgo biloba was limited among the students. Older students had a positive CAM attitude compared to younger students (í µí± = 0.027). Conclusion. Students attitudes toward CAM learning were encouraging regardless of their limited knowledge on the subject. A high percentage of students agreed that CAM in combination with conventional therapy is beneficial in treating unusual cases, but the choice of CAM should be based on evidence. Furthermore, medical students are still reluctant to have CAM practitioners in their referral network.

The knowledge and attitude of medical students of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences about complementary and alternative medicine 2010

The knowledge and attitude of medical students of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences about complementary and alternative medicine 2010 This study was conducted to determine the knowledge and attitude of the medical students of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences about complementary and alternative medicine. This descriptive study was done on all medical students of Rafsanjan University of Medical Science (n = 295) with a census method; however, 89.8% (n = 265) of the students filled the questionnaires completely. The data used for this study were collected through the questionnaires that comprised demographic questions and knowledge and attitude questions about complementary and alternative medicine. The data were stored in SPSS 16 software and analyzed by descriptive statistics and Chi 2 and Fisher statistical test. The P<0.05 was considered at a statistical significance level. The findings of this study showed that 34.7% (n = 92) of the students have weak knowledge and 13% (n = 4.9) have a positive attitude about complementary and alternative medicine. The relationship between attitude toward complementary and alternative medicine and age was shown in the sample of below 20 years old, with 3.1% (n = 1) having positive attitude and 96.9% (n = 31) having negative attitudes. The samples between 20 to 25 years old showed that 2.9% (n = 6) have positive attitude, and the samples for more than 25 years old showed that 21.4% (n = 6) have positive attitude as well. Cases with good knowledge and positive attitude were 13% (n = 12) and those with good knowledge and negative attitude were 87% (n = 80). For promotion of their knowledge, continuous education is needed in order to develop a proper attitude about this issue.