Proportion and associated factors of the utilisation of complementary and alternative medicine exclusively in a hospital in Bangladesh

Abstract

Background Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has played a critical role in ensuring universal access to basic health care services around the world. In Bangladesh, conventional medicine is a common approach for health care practices, yet, due to Bangladesh’s high out-of-pocket payment, millions of people utilise CAM-based healthcare services for illnesses. In Bangladesh, there is a scarcity of data on how CAM is perceived and utilised. The goal of this study was to determine the proportion and correlates of the utilisation of CAM among patients visiting a tertiary level hospital, in Bangladesh. Methods A cross-sectional survey involving 1,183 patients who received health care from a hospital in Bangladesh was interviewed for this study. The associated factors on utilising CAM were identified using multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results Thirty-three percent of patients utilised CAM exclusively to treat their illnesses, whereas the rest utilised conventional medicine before CAM. Young adult patients aged 26 to 45 years (AOR = 6.26, 95% CI:3.24–12.07), patients without education (AOR = 2.99, 1.81–4.93), and married patients (AOR = 1.79, 1.08–2.97) were the most likely to be only CAM users. The most common reasons for using CAM were belief in its effectiveness, less adverse effects, affordability and lower costs. Conclusion In Bangladesh, CAM plays a significant role in health care delivery, with high-levels of patient satisfaction and health benefits. Patients who are older and have a higher level of education are more hesitant to use CAM for their illness, yet CAM has the potential to play a significant role in reducing hospitalisation by providing high reliability and low costs.

Complementary and alternative medicine use by Bangladeshi adult patients with diabetes and hypertension: A multicenter study

“…On the other hand, other studies reported that younger adults had a higher prevalence of using CAM, and that women mostly used CAM. A previous Bangladeshi study revealed that 60.6% of patients of age 26 to 45 years old used CAM, which was the highest figure of all age groups, and 39.8% of female participants used CAM for treatment (Shahjalal et al, 2022b).…”

“…Along with these, media influence, better performance from CAM, and poor results from modern medicine were also common influential factors in using CAM. The study in Bangladesh reported that 55.5% of patients used CAM because of its less adverse effects and 41.6% of patients utilised it for its effective disease management (Shahjalal et al, 2022b). In India, patients used CAM because of its effectiveness (50%), advice from family (43%), and on-time usage on illness (51%) (Roy et al, 2015).…”

“…Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 has set target 3.4 of reducing premature mortality from NCDs through prevention and treatment, and target 3.8 of achieving universal health coverage through the access to quality essential health-care services and safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all. In that case, CAM can play a significant role in achieving these two targets because in recent studies of Bangladesh, 33% of patients utilized CAM exclusively for treatment purposes (Shahjalal et al, 2022b) while 32.8% NCD patients used CAM for the treatment of chronic illness (Shahjalal et al, 2022a). The abovementioned findings of Bangladesh-based studies indicated that even though conventional medicine has come a long way, the number of people using CAM keeps growing across the country.…”