Knowledge and Attitudes towards Complementary and Alternative Medicine among Senior Medical Students in King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia

Table 4

Attitude of senior medical students towards different concepts of CAM.

Statements	Strongly agree	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Strongly disagree
	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)
The ideas and methods applied in CAM could be beneficial for conventional therapies	22 (9.1)	134 (55.4)	70 (28.9)	10 (4.1)	6 (2.5)
Patients should inform/consult their doctors about their use of CAM	50 (20.66)	132 (54.54)	45 (18.6)	10 (4.13)	5 (2.07)
The CAM therapy produced significant effects with placebo testing	19 (7.9)	86 (35.5)	94 (38.8)	40 (16.5)	3 (1.2)
The CAM therapies that are not scientifically tested should not be used to discourage the harmful aspects of CAM	67 (27.7)	76 (31.4)	67 (27.7)	23 (9.5)	9 (3.7)
Clinical care should be a mixture of conventional and complementary medicine to ensure the best results	54 (22.3)	84 (34.7)	84 (34.7)	18 (7.4)	2 (0.8)
Healthcare professionals should be competent enough to advise their patients on the best available CAM method relevant to their treatment	47 (19.4)	78 (32.2)	79 (32.6)	30 (12.4)	8 (3.3)
The spiritual and religious beliefs of students influence their ability to use CAM methods in their professional practice	41 (16.9)	59 (24.4)	90 (37.2)	41 (16.9)	11 (4.5)
CAM knowledge is necessary for the career of students as a future practicing healthcare professional	46 (19.0)	77 (31.8)	77 (31.8)	33 (13.6)	9 (3.7)
Patients should be instructed to consult their doctors before taking additional CAM therapies along with their conventional therapy	100 (41.3)	82 (33.9)	42 (17.4)	12 (5.0)	6 (2.5)
The medical professionals should encourage referrals to CAM therapy and make it available to the patient along with conventional therapy	22 (9.1)	72 (29.8)	87 (36.0)	45 (18.6)	16 (6.6)
The medical curriculum should include courses about CAM along with practical training	19 (7.9)	64 (26.4)	79 (32.6)	46 (19.0)	34 (14.0)