Awareness and attitude towards complementary and alternative medicine among pharmacy- and non-pharmacy- undergraduate students: A cross-sectional study from Jordan

Abstract

Objective

The present study aimed to evaluate pharmacy students' awareness of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) to highlight the strengths and weaknesses that need improving in the pharmacy curriculum regarding CAM.

Methods

A questionnaire-based study, conducted at the University of Petra (UOP), Jordan, that compared the knowledge and attitudes towards CAM of pharmacy students with those of non-pharmacy non-health-related students.

Results

A CAM questionnaire was issued to 1230 students, and 1132 completed responses were received. Overall, over two-thirds of students (70 %) were aware of the existence of CAM. As expected, this awareness was higher among pharmacy students than non-pharmacy students (73 % vs. 65 %, p < 0.001) and increased with junior year. Compared to pharmacy students, other faculty students believed CAM is more effective than conventional medicine (CT). Furthermore, pharmacy students' belief that CAM is more effective than CT showed a steady decline within the 5-year study period (33–39 % vs.16–17 %, p < 0.0001). However, the most common reason for believing in CAM among pharmacy students (45 %) was their belief that CAM has fewer side effects compared to 35 % of non-pharmacy students. Of those pharmacy students who did not believe in CAM, almost half stated that there was no scientific evidence of CAM use. Surprisingly, only 16 % of pharmacy students indicated that their CAM source of information was from classes or attended courses during their study versus 69 % from the Internet. Furthermore, the medicinal applications most frequently thought by students to be treatable by CAM were gastrointestinal disorders (56 %) and diseases of the respiratory tract (51 %), whereas the slightest thought to be treated by CAM were endocrine disorders (2 %).

Conclusions

Although pharmacy students' CAM awareness and knowledge are enhanced as they advance in the curriculum, the conceptions that CAM could substitute conventional therapies and that CAM is more effective than conventional therapy are inversely associated with advancement in the curriculum. This latter reversal adjustment suggests the strength of the current curriculum towards conventional therapy. It underscores the need to correct the misconception of CAM by enhancing the awareness of well-researched herbal medicinal preparations. Therefore, the integration of evidence-based phytotherapy courses into the pharmacy curriculum is crucial to fostering a balanced awareness and trust in CAM.