Medical students' perceptions of complementary and alternative medicine therapies: A pre- and post-exposure survey in Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia

Background: Evidently, Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is increasingly a recognized medical practice that efficiently uses multiple treatment therapies and techniques in promoting the health  and wellbeing of people as well as preventing and managing a variety of human disorders. Research in CAM, which courses exposure to diverse healthcare professionals, is important from many perspectives including improvement in teaching skills of faculty, enhancing capacity building, and  innovative curriculum development. This pre- and post-design crosssectional study aimed to assess perceptions, training needs, personal usage, use in office practice, and knowledge of two batches of medical students toward CAM therapies in Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia.Materials and Methods: The second year medical students of the first (year 2012-13) and second (year 2013-2014) batch [n=26 & 39, respectively] were selected for this study. A reliable 16-item  self-administered questionnaire was distributed among all students for answering before and after the 48-hour specific 19 CAM therapies course, in terms of CAM therapies are clearly conventional or  alternative, training needs, effectiveness, personal use, use in practice, management of two clinical cases by CAM or conventional therapies, and views about which evidence based approach strongly support individual CAM modalities.Results: Medical students' knowledge and perceptions of CAM therapies significantly improved across some sub-items of CAM questionnaire with a positive trend in the rest of its items including their views about CAM therapies, need for further training, personal use of therapies and advising patients regarding CAM practices strongly supported by randomized clinical controlled trials and published case studies.Conclusion: CAM course tends to have positive impact on the knowledge and perceptions of medical students, in addition to need for further training, and personal use and use of CAM therapies in practice in line with strong evidence-based data regarding therapeutic efficacy. The preliminary results of this study call for further research in specific CAM modalities with a larger sample in academic settings across the nation. Key words: Medical students; Complementary and Alternative Medicine; CAM course; CAM therapies; pre-post design study; Saudi Arabia

MEDICAL STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE THERAPIES: A PRE- AND POST-EXPOSURE SURVEY IN MAJMAAH UNIVERSITY, SAUDI ARABIA

Background: Evidently, Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is increasingly a recognized medical practice that efficiently uses multiple treatment therapies and techniques in promoting the health and wellbeing of people as well as preventing and managing a variety of human disorders. Research in CAM, which courses exposure to diverse healthcare professionals, is important from many perspectives including improvement in teaching skills of faculty, enhancing capacity building, and innovative curriculum development. This pre- and post-design crosssectional study aimed to assess perceptions, training needs, personal usage, use in office practice, and knowledge of two batches of medical students toward CAM therapies in Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: The second year medical students of the first (year 2012-13) and second (year 2013-2014) batch [n=26 & 39, respectively] were selected for this study. A reliable 16-item self-administered questionnaire was distributed among all students for answering before and after the 48-hour specific 19 CAM therapies course, in terms of CAM therapies are clearly conventional or alternative, training needs, effectiveness, personal use, use in practice, management of two clinical cases by CAM or conventional therapies, and views about which evidence based approach strongly support individual CAM modalities. Results: Medical students' knowledge and perceptions of CAM therapies significantly improved across some sub-items of CAM questionnaire with a positive trend in the rest of its items including their views about CAM therapies, need for further training, personal use of therapies and advising patients regarding CAM practices strongly supported by randomized clinical controlled trials and published case studies. Conclusion: CAM course tends to have positive impact on the knowledge and perceptions of medical students, in addition to need for further training, and personal use and use of CAM therapies in practice in line with strong evidence-based data regarding therapeutic efficacy. The preliminary results of this study call for further research in specific CAM modalities with a larger sample in academic settings across the nation

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