Attitudes, Opinions and Willingness of Family Physicians Regarding Traditional and Complementary Medicine: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Traditional and Complementary Medicine (TCM) is widely used among patients with chronic diseases, especially in primary care. Patients expect information and advice about TCM from their physicians. The current study aimed to evaluate the attitude, opinions and practice of complementary and traditional medicine by Family Physicians of Elazig, Türkiye. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from May to June 2023 at family health centres, Elazig city in Türkiye. A web-based online survey was administered to a total of 159 family physicians. The questionnaire was consisted of 5 questions regarding demographic characteristics, 15 questions on opinions, and 7 questions on attitudes and practice of TCM. RESULTS: Only 13.8% (n = 22) of the participants having received prior training on TCM practices, and 11.9% (n = 9) held a certificate for any TCM application. Only 33.3% of the participants reported having personally used any TCM practices. Additionally, 55.3% stated that they recommend TCM practices to their patients, while 69.2% noted that their patients sought information from them about TCM. Physicians over the age of 30 had higher rates of receiving TCM training. The participants aged 30 and older also demonstrated a greater willingness to receive TCM training (p = 0.034) and to include TCM training in medical curricula compared to those under 30 (p = 0.041). Moreover, the participants aged 30 and older reported higher rates of personally using TCM practices (p = 0.001), encouraging their relatives to use TCM (p = 0.025), and having previously applied TCM practices to their patients (p = 0.002). Physicians in this age group also indicated receiving more questions about TCM from their patients (p = 0.016). CONCLUSİON: Current study findings have shown that physicians generally recommend TCM practices to their patients. The vast majority of patients want to receive information about TCM practices from their physicians. However, the rate of receiving TCM training and having a TCM practice certificate in the study population was very low. Physicians over the age of 30 were more willing and had a more positive opinion of TCM practices.