Knowledge of and attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine amongst medical students in a Turkish medical school

ABSTRACT

To determine the knowledge level and attitude of Gulhane Military Medical School students towards complementary and alternative medicine [CAM]. This descriptive study was conducted on April 2008. Total 401 students participated in the study. The questionnaire contains demographic questions, and multiple-choice questions related to 14 frequently used CAM therapies. We also asked 5 more questions to asses' students' attitudes toward CAM. Information was collected through a questioner with multiple choice questions related to fourteen frequently used CAM therapies. Knowledge of meditation, Tai Chi, ayuverdic medicine, massage, reiki, spirituality [pray] and herbal therapy were found statistically different between male and female students. Hypnosis was the most known modality in all medical classes. We found that internet was the main source of information about CAM modalities for both gender. The proportion of students who believe the benefits of CAM modalities in medicine was found 64.9%. Although the positive attitude toward CAM was found to be high in our study group, it is lower than most of the studies conducted in different countries