Medical School Students' Attitudes, Behaviours, and Information Sources Towards Holistic Complementary and Alternative Medicine: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

It was aimed to evaluate medical students' attitudes, behaviours, and information sources towards holistic complementary and alternative medicine. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was applied to 980 (participation rate 80.3%) medical students between January 2023 and March 2023. Data were obtained using the sociodemographic data form and the Holistic Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire (HCAMQ). Results: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) attitude was higher in those who were younger (p<0.001), those who were studying in the preclinical period (p<0.001), those whose families lived in a district/village (p=0.002), and those whose family's average monthly income was low (p<0.001). While the most common methods heard and used were acupuncture and hypnosis, the least were prolotherapy and hirudotherapy. Of the students, 84.8% had heard of at least one CAM method before and 80.1% had used it before. The most used primary information sources were the internet (57.8%) and social media (48.4%). Of the students, 64.3% stated that these practices should be added to the medical school curriculum. Those who had not used any method before had low positive attitudes towards CAM (p<0.001). Conclusion: Since the study was conducted after the coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic, it can be said that students' interest in CAM has increased. Considering most students who declare that these practices should be added to the medical school curriculum, it may be recommended that the relevant units carry out the necessary studies on the subject.