ABSTRACT
Background: Despite all the marvelous advancements in modern medicine, traditional medicine [TM] has always been practiced
Aim of the work: We aimed to assess Patterns of utilization and outcome of complementary and alternative medicine among primary health care attendees in Tabuk, KSA
Subjects and Methods: This cross-sectional study conducted among 345 patients attending the primary health care centers [PHC] in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia during the period from January 2015 to January 2016. Participants were selected from 29 centers by a stratified selection method. A structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic data, going to a non-medical practitioner [TH] for advice about a health problem within the last year, the reason for that, type of TH provided prescription/advice, outcome, and personal satisfaction. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences [SPSS] was used for data analysis. The Chi-square and Fischer exact tests were used to examine the associations and differences between two categorical variables
Results: Participants [57.1% males], 62.9% had a history of visiting a Traditional Healer, Visiting a traditional healer was commoner among females [72.3% versus 55.8%, p=0.002] No significant statistical differences were found regarding other characteristics. Ineffective medical management was the reason in 55.3%, while the firm belief in TH that it was the reason behind 36.9%. Medical treatment was the most frequent [50.7%] followed by Zikr [25.8%], 87.6% said the visits were affordable, and 70% of visitors improved
Conclusion: Traditional medicine practice was prevalent in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia and was most prevalent among females. No significant differences were found between traditional medicine visitors and their counterparts regarding other characteristics