Views of Healthcare Professionals to Traditional and Complementary Medicine

Yıl 2021, Cilt: 2 Sayı: 3, 146 - 152, 20.12.2021

Ahmet Önder Porsuk , Çiğdem Cerit

https://doi.org/10.53811/ijtcmr.988323

Cited By: 2

Öz

Objective: Although its roots go back centuries, there is still a demand for traditional medicine practices and it is important to know the opinion of the society and healthcare professionals about the subject. Our study aims to determine the attitudes of healthcare professional and non-healthcare hospital staff about traditional medicine.

Material-Method: A two-stage questionnaire, a demographic information section, and the Complementary, Alternative, and Conventional Medicine Attitudes Scale (CACMAS) was used to collect the data. Descriptive statistics, Kolmogorov Smirnov, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis and chi-square tests were used to analyze the data.

Results: A total of 681 staff of nine public and private hospitals participated in the study. 65.4% (n=439) of the participants were healthcare professionals, 34.6% (n=232) were non-healthcare professionals. The mean scores of the healthcare professional respondents were 92.6 (±16.7), of the non-healthcare professional respondents were 126.1 (±11.7).

Conclusion: In our study, it was found that healthcare professionals' attitudes towards traditional medicine practices were more negative than non-healthcare professionals. However, as according to the current legislation in many countries around the world, only physicians who receive standard training and other healthcare professionals under their supervision are authorized to perform traditional medicine practices in Turkey. As a result of our study, it was determined that the attitudes of healthcare professionals and other segments of the society should be observed about traditional medicine practices and that measures should be taken to bring together the supply and demand for traditional medicine on a legal basis. 

Anahtar Kelimeler

Traditional Medicine, Attitude, Health Personnel, Hospital Staff

Teşekkür

The authors wish to thank the participants for their contribution to the research. Special thanks to Mrs. Aylin Sepici for English editing.

Kaynakça

• 1. World Health Organization, WHO traditional medicine strategy: 2014-2023. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/92455/9789241506090_eng.pdf?sequence=1
• 2. World Health Organization (WHO) [Internet]. Legal Status of Traditional Medicine and Complementary / Alternative Medicine: A Worldwide Review. The World Health Organization, Geneva 2001. [cited 2021 Feb 4]. Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/42452/WHO_EDM_TRM_2001.2_eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
• 3. Olortegui-Mariño R, Galvez-Olortegui J, Paredes-Ayrac D, Villafan-Broncano M. Alternative, traditional, or complementary medicine: A perspective of intercultural therapeutic adherence. Medwave 2017 Jun;17(5): e6976 doi: 10.5867/medwave.2017.05.6976
• 4. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) [Internet]. Complementary, Alternative, or Integrative Health: What’s in a Name? [cited 2021 Feb 4]. Available from: https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/complementary-alternative-or-integrative-health-whats-in-a-name.
• 5. World Health Organization (WHO) [Internet]. General Guidelines for Methodologies on Research and Evaluation of Traditional Medicine. Geneva,2000. [cited 2021 Feb 4]. Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/66783/WHO_EDM_TRM_ 2000.1.pdf
• 6. Karahancı ON, Öztoprak ÜY, Ersoy M, Zeybek Ünsal Ç, Hayırlıdağ M, Örnek Büken N. Comparison of Traditional, Complementary Medicine Draft Regulations and Regulations. Turkish Journal of Bioethics. 2015;2(2):117-126
• 7. McFadden KL, Hernández TD, Ito TA. Attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine influence its use. Explore (NY). 2010;6(6):380-8. doi: 10.1016/j.explore.2010.08.004.
• 8. Köse E, Ekerbiçer HÇ, Erkorkmaz Ü. Complementary, Alternative and Conventional Medicine Attitude Scale: Turkish validity Reliability Study. Sakarya Med J. 2018;8(4):726-36. doi: 10.31832/smj.478148
• 9. Öğütle VS, Sarımuratoğlu D. Strategies of Modern Oncologist Physician’s in Relation to Traditional Medicine Practices. Journal of Sociological Research. 2018;21(2):180-209 doi: 10.18490/sosars.476105
• 10. Somer P, Vatanoğlu-Lutz EE. A Legal and Ethical Evaluation of the Regulations on Traditional and Complementary Medicine. Anatolian Clinic. 2017 Jan;22(1):58-65 doi: 10.21673/anadoluklin.284478
• 11. Brosnan C. ‘Quackery’ in the Academy? Professional Knowledge, Autonomy and the Debate over Complementary Medicine Degrees. Sociology. 2015;49(1):1047-1064. doi: 10.1177/0038038514557912
• 12. Wright S. Natural and Traditional Medicine in Cuba: Outmoded Quackery or A Legitimate Tributary to Sustainable Healthcare? International Journal of Cuban Studies. 2012;4(1), 88-99. doi: 10.2307/41926673
• 13. Betthauser LM, Brenner LA, Forster JE, Hostetter TA, Schneider AL, Hernandez TD. A factor analysis and exploration of attitudes and beliefs toward complementary and conventional medicine in veterans. Med Care. 2014;52(12 Suppl 5):50-6. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000000219
• 14. Ağan S. Attitudes and Behaviors of Faculty of Health Sciences Students Regarding Complementary, Alternative Therapy and Modern Medicine. Marmara University Master Thesis. İstanbul, 2019.
• 15. Kemppainen LM, Kemppainen TT, Reippainen JA, Salmenniemi ST, Vuolanto PH. Use of complementary and alternative medicine in Europe: Health-related and sociodemographic determinants. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. 2018;46(4):448-455. doi:10.1177/1403494817733869
• 16. Abdollahi F, Yazdani Charati J, Lye MS. Midwives' perceptions of Complementary and Alternative Medicines' during pregnancy. Complement Ther Med. 2020 Mar;49:102323. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2020.102323.
• 17. Liem A, Newcombe PA. Indonesian provisional clinical psychologists’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours towards complementary-alternative medicine (CAM). Complem Therap Clin Pract 2017;28:204–11. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2017.06.007.
• 18. Kayombo EJ. Alternative Medicine in Tanzania And Its Health Implications. Asian Journal of Health and Medical Research (AJHMR). 2018 Dec; 4(1):01-08.
• 19. Fan X, Meng F, Wang D, Guo Q, Ji Z, Yang L, et al. Perceptions of traditional Chinese medicine for chronic disease care and prevention: a cross-sectional study of Chinese hospital-based health care professionals. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2018;18;209. doi: 10.1186/s12906-018-2273-y
• 20. Demir E. Knowledge, attitude and behavior of health workers about traditional and complementary treatment methods. Biruni University Master Thesis. Istanbul, 2019.
• 21. Brambila-Tapia AJ, Rios-Gonzalez BE, Lopez-Barragan L, Saldaña-Cruz AM, Rodriguez-Vazquez K. Attitudes, Knowledge, Use, and Recommendation of Complementary and Alternative Medicine by Health Professionals in Western Mexico. Explore (NY). 2016;12(3):180-187. doi: 10.1016/j.explore.2016.02.002
• 22. Keene M, Heslop I, Sabesan S, Glass B. Complementary and alternative medicine use in cancer: A systematic review. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice. Published online: 2020 doi:10.1080/17538068.2020.1755202
• 23. Sönmez C, Ayhan Başer D, Küçükdağ H, Kayar O, Acar İ, Döner Güner P. Evaluation of Knowledge of Traditional and Complementary Medicine of Medical School Students. Konuralp Medical Journal. 2018;10(3):276-281 doi: 10.18521/ktd.455211
• 24. Kahraman A, Kırkan Ç. Investigation of Knowledge and Attitudes of Pediatric Nurses Toward Traditional and Complementary Medicine Practices. J Tradit Complem Med. 2020;3(1):32-9 doi: 10.5336/jtracom.2019-72348