Awareness, Self-Use, Perceptions, Beliefs, and Attitudes toward Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM) among Health Professional Students in King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Integrative nursing in the Brazilian northeast: introduction, potential, and challenges

OBJECTIVE

to describe the introduction, potential, and challenges experienced by nurses in the provision of Integrative and Complementary Health Practices in the northeast f Brazil.

METHOD

A qualitative study conducted from June to December 2022 with 15 northeastern nurses qualified in Integrative and Complementary Practices. The data were produced through individual online interviews and submitted to content analysis.

RESULTS

15 nurses participated, and 23 integrative practices were cited, with a predominance of auriculotherapy, greater introduction in primary care and private nursing offices, highlighting labor and personal benefits. Their potential includes technical qualification for the practice and interest in continuing education. The hospital-centric view of professionals, the low diffusion on the theme in teaching, as well as the difficulty in pricing procedures and in developing clinical reasoning in other medical rationalities were cited as the main challenges.

CONCLUSION

Despite the challenges still faced, northeastern nurses are offering integrative practices to complement user care.

Prevalence, Reasons, and Perceived Benefits of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Among Patients With Rheumatic Diseases in Morocco: A Monocentric Cross-Sectional Study

Background In general, rheumatologists often have limited knowledge regarding the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among patients with rheumatic diseases. Understanding the prevalence, reasons for use, and perceived benefits of CAM can help improve patient care and guide clinical practices. This study aimed to assess the prevalence, reasons for use, and perceived benefits of cupping therapy, apitherapy, and traditional cautery treatments among patients with rheumatic diseases. Additionally, it aimed to explore adverse effects, location and pricing disparities in CAM practices, information sources, and the rate of reporting CAM use to treat rheumatologists and to identify factors associated with the use of these CAM approaches. Methodology This single-center, cross-sectional study was conducted in a Moroccan University Hospital and included patients receiving care for rheumatic diseases during hospitalization or outpatient visits from January 2024 to March 2024. The data were collected using a structured, validated, and pilot-tested questionnaire administered by attending rheumatologists. The questionnaire aimed to gather demographic information and to identify patients using CAM, collecting data related to their utilization. Results A total of 100 patients were enrolled (mean age: 52.3 ± 12.8 years, 75% female). Among them, 43% had chronic inflammatory rheumatism. Additionally, 46% reported using at least one of the three CAM methods studied, with 36% using cupping therapy (specifically the wet method), 9% using apitherapy, and 16% using traditional cautery. The main reason for using CAM was to alleviate their pain (55%). Perceptions of effectiveness were reported by 38% of patients using cupping therapy, 20% using apitherapy, and 5.9% using traditional cautery. The use of CAM was significantly lower in patients with a university education (odds ratio = 0.05, 95% confidence interval = 0.003-0.92). Conclusions Our study revealed a significant prevalence of CAM use among patients with rheumatic diseases in Morocco, with cupping therapy emerging as the most commonly utilized method. These findings underscore the importance of enhancing awareness and understanding of CAM practices among both patients and healthcare providers to promote more structured and informed CAM practices.

Knowledge, attitude, and perceptions of healthcare professionals towards complementary and alternative medicine: a cross-sectional survey from twin cities of Pakistan

BACKGROUND

The growing popularity and use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) products among the general public worldwide has been well documented. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and perceptions (KAP) of Pakistani healthcare professionals (HCP) toward CAM and to document their views on integrating CAM education with the curriculum of undergraduate health science programs.

METHOD

A cross-sectional study using simple random sampling was conducted for a duration of ten months among HCPs from Pakistan's twin cities: Islamabad and RawalpindiThe data were collected using a self-administered and validated (Cronbach's alpha: 0.71) questionnaire. This questionnaire consisted of five sections, namely; demographic, attitude, perception, integration and knowledge.

RESULT

The response rate was 91.20% (500/456). The participants included 160 physicians, 155 nurses,and 141 pharmacists. The majority of the respondents were females, 67.50%, and unmarried (60.50%).The majority of HCPs participating in this study agreed that CAM modalities may benefit conventional medicine system. Likewise, most HCPs perceived different CAM therapies aseffective treatment options. More than 50% HCPs suggested CAM elective courses in the curriculum of the health sciences program.Overall, 79.17% of the HCPs have poor knowledge of CAM. Physicians have the highest knowledge score 25.63%, followed by pharmacists 21.99%, and nurses 12.26%. Knowledge status was significantly associated with age, profession, and experience of practice (p = 0.001,0.001 & 0.019).

CONCLUSION

This study revealed that despite the overall positive attitude of HCPs toward CAM, the score of knowledge is low. Therefore, the survey recommends evidence-based guidelines for the rationale use of CAM and updated syllabi of undergraduate health programs which will assist the future HCPs in increasing professionals' knowledge toachieve better health outcomes for the general public.

The effectiveness of teaching complementary and alternative medicine based on the components of theory of planned behavior on nutrition students: multicenter research study

OBJECTIVE

Safe and beneficial use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modalities results from integrating CAM education into curricula and increasing CAM knowledge. We sought how much teaching CAM procedures in a virtual environment can influence the components of the theory of planned behavior (TPB), including knowledge, attitude, behavioral intention, and behavior of nutrition students.

METHODS

This cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study was conducted on 162 undergraduate nutrition students were selected through convenience sampling based on inclusion criteria in 2021-2022. Data were collected through a validated researcher-made CAM questionnaire that was designed based on TPB questionnaire that consisted of four constructs (knowledge, attitude, behavioral intention, and behavior). The content validity index and content validity ratio of the questionnaire were evaluated.

RESULTS

Our results revealed that students who significantly scored the highest scores in attitude, behavioral intention, and behavior constructs were the students who claimed that "teaching two credits of CAM for nutrition students is not enough" (p. value =  < 0.001, < 0.001, and 0.005, respectively). In addition, these students used treatment methods of CAM for themselves, suggested treatment methods of CAM to others, and followed the recommendations of the CAM specialists (for three pairwise comparisons: p. value =  < 0.001, < 0.001, and < 0.001, respectively). The attitude could predict 70% of behavioral intention. However, attitude and behavioral intention could predict 90% of behavior.

CONCLUSION

Attitude was the most critical determinant influencing behavioral intention and behavior. CAM teaching using evidence-based CAM-ITM principles with a succinct, concerted, and collaborative curriculum, integration of CAM into continuing education, and integration of educational CAM programs continuously for several years into the academic curriculum in the actual setting influence the success of the educational CAM program.

Complementary and Alternative Medicines in Northern Cyprus: Public Awareness, Patterns of Use, and Attitudes

Background: The utilization of herbal medicine (HM) as a component of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasing worldwide. Little is known about justifications for its use and the factors associated with it. This study gains insights into the use of herbal medicines in Northern Cyprus, concentrating on targets for its use, the role played by disease type, reasons for its use, and sources of information. Methods: A questionnaire was utilized to achieve the aim of the study. The questionnaire was distributed to a random sample comprised of people in two different regions in Northern Cyprus over a 12-week period from August to November 2020. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Moreover, qualitative research explored individuals’ decision making regarding CAM, which aimed to examine 20 patients as a context for beliefs, decision making, and dialogue about CAM. After audio-taping and verbatim transcription, the data were analyzed with qualitative content analysis. Results: The findings show that the majority of respondents learned about herbal products (HPs) and CAM from other patients, the Internet, friends, and family. The results indicate that almost half of the respondents were aware of how CAMs, especially herbal preparations, are used to treat common illnesses. Fennel, ginger, and echinacea were the most commonly used HMs, mainly for the treatment of the common cold. Furthermore, nearly 50% of the participants expressed the belief that HMs are safe, have fewer side effects than conventional medicines, and are also effective for treating minor health conditions. The prevalence was strongly associated with education level based on a Pearson Chi-square analysis. Conclusions: Although herbal medicines were mostly used to treat mild to moderate ailments and the participants were aware of their limitations, the combination of self-medication, inexperienced counseling, and lack of awareness of the risks of herbal medicines is potentially harmful. This is particularly important for elderly users, because although they seemed to be more aware of health-related issues, they generally used more medication than younger people. Given our finding that dissatisfaction with modern medicine is the most important reason for the preferred use of herbal medicines, government agencies, physicians, and pharmaceutical companies should be aware of this issue and should aim to create some level of awareness among users.

Knowledge, attitude, perceived effectiveness and self-practice of complementary and alternative medicine: a cross-sectional comparison between medical and non-medical students of Bangladesh

BACKGROUND

Bangladesh's population commonly utilizes Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to treat their health issues. Despite the increasing interest in CAM, it has been excluded from conventional medical training in Bangladesh for many years. Therefore, this study assessed and compared the knowledge level, attitude, perceived effectiveness, and self-practice of CAM among undergraduate students of Bangladesh.

METHODS

This cross-sectional group comparison study was conducted among undergraduate (both medical and non-medical) students of Bangladesh between November and December 2021. Data was collected using a self-reported pretested semi-structured online questionnaire. The questionnaire contained questions regarding background information, knowledge regarding CAM, source of CAM knowledge, attitude towards CAM, interest in attaining CAM knowledge, perceived effectiveness of CAM, perceived adverse effects of CAM, self-practice of CAM, and whether would they refer CAM to others. A total of 576 students responded and the data gathered allowed for the following: (1) an overview of the study groups, (2) respondents' general perception and knowledge regarding CAM, and (3) a comparison of respondents' CAM knowledge, general perception, and usage by area of study. Data were analyzed using STATA (v.16) and descriptive statistics, Pearson's chi-square test, and Mann-Whitney U test were performed.

RESULTS

A total of 329 medical students and 247 non-medical students participated in the study. The mean age of the participants was 21.57 ± 1.8 years and 56.2% of them were male. The most known CAM among medical (M) students was homeopathy (44.6%) and among non-medical (NM) students were herbal medicine (45.7%). Non-medical students had significantly better knowledge about nine out of twelve CAM modalities included in the study, and no significant differences were present for the rest of the modalities. Medical (81.1%) and non-medical students (86.2%) perceived traditional Chinese medicine and homeopathy to be the most effective respectively. "Incorporating CAM with conventional medicine would result in increased patient satisfaction" showed the most statistically significant (p = 0.0002) difference among both groups. Yoga was the most often practiced modality among medical students and homeopathy among non-medical students.

CONCLUSION

Medical students have a lacking of knowledge and a positive attitude towards CAM, despite its very common practice among the people of Bangladesh. Therefore, emphasis should be put on the inclusion of CAM modules in medical training.

Current Awareness of Health Professionals on the Safety of Herbal Medicine and Associated Factors in the South West of Ethiopia

Background

Recently, the World Health Organization has strongly evidenced the importance of herbal medicine safety monitoring within the existing pharmacovigilance system through active involvement of health professionals. However, there is a widespread lack of awareness among health professionals about the safety of herbal medicines. Thus, this study assessed the current awareness of health professionals on the safety of herbal medicine in the South West of Ethiopia.

Methodology

The study employed a cross-sectional study design involving multistage sampling among health professionals (n=286) working in the medical center of Jimma University, January to February, 2021. The pre-tested self-administered questionnaire containing structured questions on a five-point Likert scale was appropriately filled and returned for statistical analysis. For the analysis of data, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used. The associations between status of awareness and predictors were determined at 5% (p<0.05) level of significance by employing multivariate logistic regression.

Results

The study revealed around 51.8% of respondents had a good awareness regarding herbal medicine safety. Working experience of 6-10 years (AOR: 0.215, 95% CI: 0.093, 0.499), having training (AOR: 0.357, 95% CI: 0.166, 0.770), and practice of safety monitoring (AOR: 0.169, 95% CI: 0.077, 0.370) were significantly associated with awareness of safety of herbal medicine.

Conclusion

This study revealed that awareness of health professionals regarding safety of herbal medicine is not satisfactory. The years of experience, training, and practice of safety monitoring of herbal medicine are the major factors affecting status awareness. Therefore, the National Regulatory Authority must urgently facilitate integrated and consistent training for all health professionals.

Fear at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic: validation of the Arabic version of the Four-Dimensional Symptom Questionnaire among Saudi-based respondents

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented stress and fear throughout the world.

AIMS

To evaluate the psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Saudi public, and to examine the performance of the Arabic version of the Four-Dimensional Symptom Questionnaire (4DSQ) scale.

METHOD

We conducted an online questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey of a sample of the Saudi public.

RESULTS

The study included 347 participants, who reported significantly higher levels of distress, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms and somatisation compared with a normative sample. Females scored higher in terms of somatisation, depression and anxiety symptoms, and distress. Obtaining COVID-19 information from friends and relatives was associated with higher levels of somatisation, depression and anxiety symptoms, and distress. Cronbach's alpha was 0.93 for the distress scale, 0.88 for the depression scale, 0.88 for the anxiety scale and 0.86 for the somatisation scale.

CONCLUSIONS

Levels of psychological distress were high among the Saudi public during the COVID-19 pandemic. We found high reliability for the Arabic version of the 4DSQ scale. However, three items did not conform to the four-factor structure, namely, item 1: 'During the past week, did you suffer from dizziness or feeling light-headed?', item 20: 'During the past week, did you suffer from disturbed sleep?' and item 46: 'During the past week did you ever think I wish I was dead?'.