Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Primary Health Care Physicians toward Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Jazan Province.

Abstract

Background: Complementary and alternative medicine is defined as a group of health care systems, practices, and products that are not part of conventional medicine. It was found that the use of CAM is increasing among different populations. Physicians are the personnel responsible for providing medical treatment and medical care for patients, so it is important to have knowledge about this strategy that people widely use.

 Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess knowledge, attitudes, and utilization of complementary and alternative medicine among PHC physicians in Jazan Region.

Methods: This is cross sectional study which was conducted among 367 physicians of PHC centers in Jazan region. The study used a self-administrated questionnaire which involved four parts to investigate demographics of physicians, knowledge, attitude and practice.

Results: The mean score of knowledge was 45.25±15.5, while that of attitude was 15.89±4.25 and CAM was used by 37.6% of physicians. The most familiar modalities of CAM were dietary supplements (27.8%), massage (22.1%) and relaxation (17.7%). Qualification was the factor that influenced both knowledge (P-value=0.04) and attitude (P- value=0.001).

Conclusion and Recommendation: There was low knowledge and practice of CAM among physicians, however there was a positive attitude toward it. The most common modalities of CAM used were dietary supplements, massage and relaxation. The findings of this study is in accordance with that reported previously from different areas from Saudi Arabia which reflect the need for establishing training programs and encourage physicians to attend them to increase their knowledge about CAM as this strategy is widely increased among public.