Attitude of Saudi medical students towards complementary and alternative medicine

Abstract

BACKGROUND:Alternative medicine is defined as medical therapies that are not regarded as orthodox by the medical profession. The teaching of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in medical schools is becoming prevalent worldwide. Only a few studies have been done to assess medical students' attitude toward CAM and the need for CAM courses.MATERIALS AND METHODS:An observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted on medical students in two universities, King Saud (KSU) and Majmaah (MU) medical colleges, between February and April 2015. A survey was developed and validated by a pilot study. Data were gathered from both colleges by means of hard and soft copy surveys. Medical students of both genders from the 1st year to the 5th year from both universities were targeted in this study. Fifth-year students from Majmaah and students from the preparatory year were excluded from the study. KSU students comprised 1433, while MU students comprised only 180. The sample size was 384. Data were analyzed using SPSS software.RESULTS:The study included 399 medical students. Bloodletting is the most known modality (80.7%), while homeopathy is the least known with a percentage of 7.47%. The overall assessment of the attitude toward CAM was neutral, with a mean of 3.1. Students who had taken a CAM course previously were more satisfied with their knowledge than those who had not, showing a statistical significance of P = 0.0001.CONCLUSION:This study showed a lack of knowledge of CAM among medical students. There was an association between taking a CAM course and students' satisfaction with their knowledge. Most of the students agreed with the inclusion of CAM courses in the medical curriculum.

Comparison Between Healthcare Professionals And The General Population On Parameters Related To Natural Remedies Used During The COVID-19 Pandemic

“…On the other hand, healthcare workers (HCWs) who studied modern medicine had limited exposure to this subject as part of the course curriculum, and most HCWs lack training in this branch of medicine unless out of self-interest (Albadr et al, 2018;Clement et al, 2005). In such cases, HCWs show interest if they are supported by quality knowledge and guidelines (Hilal and Hilal, 2017).…”

Herbal medicines: a cross-sectional study to evaluate the prevalence and predictors of use among Jordanian adults

“…About 80% of the population in Arab societies relies on herbal medicines for the prevention and treatment of illness [6]. For instance, in Egypt, 37% of the population reported using herbal medicines [7], while, in Saudi Arabia, a higher proportion of the population (73%) have used herbal medicines [8]. In Jordan, herbal medicine has maintained popularity as a result of historical, cultural, and psychosocial factors [9].…”

Use and acceptance of complementary and alternative medicine among medical students: a cross sectional study from Palestine

“…There have been a rising number of studies investigating medical students’ knowledge and attitude regarding CAM in recent years. For example, two recent studies from Saudi Arabia that assessed knowledge and attitude regarding CAM among medical students [22, 23] concluded that there was a knowledge gap regarding CAM among students, despite their positive attitude towards the topic. Another study conducted at two universities in the United States investigated the views of medical students and students in other health-care professions on CAM [24] and reported that medical students received the least amount of education about CAM and doubted the usefulness of CAM the most among all health professions students.…”