Pharmacy students' use of and beliefs about traditional healthcare

Complementary and alternative medicine - practice, attitudes, and knowledge among healthcare professionals in New Zealand: an integrative review

BACKGROUND

The prevalence of CAM use is increasing. This integrative review investigated New Zealand healthcare professionals' practice of, attitudes toward, and knowledge about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

METHODS

Literature search was conducted in four databases from inception to April 2020. Studies were included if they reported results from primary data collection on practice of, attitudes toward, or knowledge about CAM amongst New Zealand healthcare professionals.

RESULTS

Eleven studies (two of 'high-quality', seven of 'moderate-quality', and two of 'low-quality') were identified with 2060 healthcare professionals including general practitioners (GPs), nurses, midwives, pharmacists, physiotherapists, and medical specialists. New Zealand healthcare professionals were generally positive regarding CAM use, but have concerns on the scientific evidence, regulation, safety, financial costs of CAM, and encourage an evidence-based CAM practice and stronger CAM regulation. Findings indicated that around 25% of GPs practise CAM, and 82.3% refer patients to CAM practitioners. When treating pregnant women, 48.4% of physiotherapists practise acupuncture, and 37.3% of midwives recommend CAM. GPs believe that acupuncture is the most helpful CAM modality, and most commonly practiced and referred patients to acupuncture. Up to 58% of GPs and Plunket nurses wanted to receive further education on CAM, and up to 66.7% GPs favour the idea CAM should be included in medical curriculums.

CONCLUSIONS

Nine of the 11 included studies were of moderate to high quality, thus enhancing the reliability of the review findings. In order to better manage CAM in New Zealand New Zealand clinical settings, there is a need to invest in CAM research and education, and enhance CAM regulation. This review is a first step in developing an evidence base to offer insights for further development of effective CAM policies regarding safety, efficacy, regulation and integration in New Zealand.

Community Pharmacists' Perceptions about Pharmaceutical Care of Traditional Medicine Products: A Questionnaire-Based Cross-Sectional Study in Guangzhou, China

This study aimed to investigate community pharmacists' perceived responsibility, practice behaviors, knowledge, perceived barriers, and improvement measures towards provision of pharmaceutical care in relation to traditional medicine (TM) products in Guangzhou, China. A self-completion questionnaire was used to survey licensed pharmacists working at community pharmacies. This study found that the community pharmacists in Guangzhou, China, were involved in the provision of TM products during their daily practice but only provided pharmaceutical care in this area with a passive attitude. Extrinsic barriers such as lack of scientific evidence for the safety and efficacy of TM products and unclear definition of their roles and responsibilities were highlighted while intrinsic factors such as insufficient TM knowledge were identified.

Beliefs, attitudes and self-use of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy medicines among senior pharmacy students: An exploratory insight from Andhra Pradesh, India

OBJECTIVES

To assess the beliefs, attitudes and self-use of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy (AYUSH) medicines among senior pharmacy students.

METHODOLOGY

This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among pharmacy students in four pharmacy schools located in Andhra Pradesh in South India. This study was conducted from the August to September 2014. The study population included all pharmacy students enrolled in Doctor of Pharmacy, Bachelor of Pharmacy and Diploma in Pharmacy programs in studied pharmacy schools. The pretested AYUSH survey had 8 questions on AYUSH related beliefs and 8 question on AYUSH related attitudes. The survey also asked participants about AYUSH related knowledge, frequency of use of AYUSH and the reason for using AYUSH. The data analysis was performed using SPSS Version 20. Chi-square test and Mann-Whitney U-test were employed to study the association between the independent and dependent variables.

RESULTS

A total of 428 pharmacy students participated in the survey. 32.2% of the study population was females and 32.5% of the population resided in rural areas. Males were more likely to have positive beliefs about AYUSH when compared to females (odd ratio [OR] = 4.62, confidence interval [CI] = 2.37-8.99, P < 0.001). Similarly, students living in hostels were more positive in their beliefs about AYUSH compared with students living at home (OR = 2.14, CI = 1.12-4.07, P < 0.05). Students living in hostel also had a positive attitude about AYUSH use (OR = 1.74, CI = 1.03-2.93, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Pharmacy students held favorable attitude and beliefs about AYUSH use. This baseline survey provides important information about the pharmacy student's perception about AYUSH. Further research is needed to explore the reasons that shape the pharmacy student's beliefs and attitudes about AYUSH.