Knowledge and attitude of health professionals in the Riyadh region, Saudi Arabia, toward complementary and alternative medicine

Background: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a popular treatment option for many populations. The present work is aimed at studying the knowledge and attitude of health professionals in the Riyadh region, Saudi Arabia, toward CAM. Material and Methods: In this cross-sectional survey, a multistage random sample was taken from health professionals working in hospitals in Riyadh city and surrounding governorates. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire, from 306 health professionals working in 19 hospitals, on socio-demographic data, knowledge about CAM and their sources, and attitudes toward CAM practices. Results: Of the participants, 88.9% had some knowledge about CAM. Respondents with a doctorate degree (94.74%) and 92.53% of those with a bachelor′s degree had significantly higher knowledge of CAM than subjects with a diploma, a fellowship, or a master′s degree (68.75%, 76.67%, and 85.41%, respectively, P = 0.004). Mass media represented 60.1% of sources of the knowledge of CAM followed by family, relatives, and friends (29.08%) and health educational organizations (14.71%). Participants estimated that prophetic medicine including prayer, honey and bee products, medical herbs, Hijama, nutrition and nutritional supplements, cauterization, and camel milk and urine were the most commonly used CAM practices (90.5%, 85%, 76.9%, 70.6%, 61.4%, 55.9%, and 52.5%, respectively) in addition to medical massage (61.8%) and acupuncture (55%). One hundred and fifteen (80%) physicians were ready to talk with their patients on CAM. Conclusion: The willingness to improve knowledge and create a positive attitude in health professionals toward CAM has increased. Religious practices, especially those related to prophetic medicine, are more common in the region. Health educational organizations have to play a greater role by being the source of evidence-based knowledge of CAM. Talking on CAM with patients should be improved by rooting them on evidence-based practices

Cupping Therapy (Al-Hijamah): An Exploratory Study of Healthcare Professionals Controversial Beliefs and Conceptions, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Background: Cupping therapy (Al-Hijamah) is a traditional therapy, supported and practised by people around the world since ancient times. Cupping therapy related to complementary and alternative medicine is associated with controversial, false beliefs and misconceptions. Objective: This study aimed at exploring controversial beliefs and conceptions about cupping therapy among healthcare professionals, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 241 healthcare professionals was carried out from January to June 2016. All participants requesting license for practicing cupping therapy underwent one week Al-Hijamah training course at National Center for Complementary and Alternative (NCCAM). Prior to training course, all subjects completed a 23-item predesigned questionnaire related to controversial beliefs and misconceptions concerning cupping therapy. All participants gave written informed consent. Results: Healthcare professionals who participated in the study (n=241) were 93 physicians, 56 physiotherapists, 61 nurses and 31 other specialists. Saudi participants represented 46.1%. 60.6% were adult males with mean clinical experience of 13.0±9.37 years. "Al-Hijamah gets rid of bad blood" was the commonest controversial belief reported by 68.1% of participants. A proportion of participants (31.5%) reported "Al-Hijamah is absolutely safe" and "Al-Hijamah is effective in the treatment of all diseases". The least controversial beliefs reported by 12%, 8.7% and 2.9% of participants were "Cupping can be used for all patients and all diseases”, "Cupping like a blood donation is not different" and "The scarification of cupping (in wet cupping) must be deep", respectively. Conclusion: The explored controversial beliefs and misconceptions related to cupping therapy may impact knowledge, attitude and practice of cupping practitioners. Therefore, all healthcare professionals need to be regularly exposed to a training course targeting these beliefs and misconceptions concerning cupping therapy prior to giving them license for practicing this traditional modality. Continuing research in cupping mechanisms of action is another prioritized area which can provide scientific explanations underlying its efficacy and outcome together with alleviating its false beliefs and misconceptions