Knowledge and attitudes towards complementary medicine by nursing students at a University in South Africa

Abstract

Background The increased popularity of complementary medicine has created the need for patients to receive accurate information from nurses who are front-line healthcare providers. Studies have demonstrated that patients are more likely to discuss other medication and therapy use with nurses, rather than with general practitioners or other health professionals. It is, therefore, important to determine nurses’ knowledge and attitudes towards complementary medicine. Aim The aim of this study was to determine nursing students’ knowledge and attitudes toward the use of complementary medicine. Setting The study was conducted with Baccalaureus Curationis (nursing) students registered at a large public university in Gauteng, South Africa. Methods This research utilised a quantitative approach with a prospective, descriptive survey design. A convenience sample comprising registered Baccalaureus Curationis nursing students ( n = 202) was utilized. Participants completed a 34-item, paper-and-pencil questionnaire to determine their knowledge, personal use and attitude toward complementary medicine modalities. Results Questionnaires were completed by 126 nursing students with 119 questionnaires included for analysis. Despite a reported lack of knowledge regarding complementary medicine and limited personal use, participants had an overall positive attitude towards complementary medicine. Almost half of the participants reported enquiring about its use in history taking and were willing to refer patients to a complementary medicine practitioner. Conclusion A positive attitude towards complementary medicine modalities might suggest a willingness from students to improve their knowledge of the various modalities and to refer to a complementary medicine practitioner when indicated.

Knowledge about, attitude toward, and practice of complementary and alternative medicine among nursing students: A systematic review of cross-sectional studies

“…), with participants representing 12 different countries. Eleven studies were from Turkey ( 8 , 27 – 36 ), four were from US ( 15 , 16 , 37 , 38 ), two were from Australia ( 14 , 39 ), with one from each of the following countries: UK ( 40 ), Canada ( 41 ), Norway ( 42 ), Hungary ( 43 ), Korea ( 44 ), Malaysia ( 45 ), India ( 46 ), South Africa ( 13 ), Sierra Leone ( 9 ). The convenience sampling method was adopted for all studies.…”

“…Of all the included studies, 12 studies ( 13 , 27 , 29 – 35 , 38 , 40 , 46 ) investigated KAP toward CAM among NSs only; while the remaining studies further compared the differences in KAP toward CAM between NSs and other groups/cohort, such as nursing faculty, or students/faculty of other health professions (e.g., medicine, pharmacy, rehabilitation/physiotherapy/occupational therapy, midwifery, radiography, nutrition/dietetics, chiropractic, biomedical science, social educator, or health visitor, etc. ; ( Table 1 )).…”

“…Unfortunately, these three tools were not developed specifically for NSs. It is also slightly unfortunate that psychometric properties such as Cronbach's coefficient alpha of the developed questionnaires/scales were reported in only eight ( 13 , 27 , 29 , 35 , 36 , 43 – 45 ) of the 26 studies. One of the eight studies also tested the Guttman λ 2 of the questionnaire ( 43 ).…”

“…Patient-provider communication about CAM approaches can support patient self-management by minimizing risk and optimizing care ( 12 ). In comparison with medical practitioners or other health professionals, nurses may play a more crucial part in communicating with patients about CAM utilization ( 13 ) and may be in a unique position to bridge the gap in communication between patients and their physicians, and between the clinical use of CAM and conventional medicine ( 14 , 15 ). The rationale and justification for this supposition is as follows: Firstly, the basic tenets of most CAM approaches are individualization, and holistic in nature, that is to see humans as the totality of the biological, psychological and spiritual dimensions ( 8 , 15 – 17 ).…”

“…Unfortunately, whilst the nursing profession is rooted in an integrated practice that encompasses holism, caring and healing, existing nursing education programs do not always emphasize these approaches, particularly pathways for referral ( 16 ). Countries such as Australia ( 23 ), Turkey ( 8 ), and South Africa ( 13 ) rarely integrate CAM instruction/knowledge into their current nursing curricula/programs. In addition, CAM appears not to have been incorporated into the curricula of nursing schools in Europe ( 21 ).…”