LOS ANGELES—Three-quarters of medical students feel conventional Western medicine would benefit by integrating more complementary, alternative and integrative medicine (CAM) therapies and ideas, according to a survey conducted by UCLA and UC San Diego researchers and published in the in the online issue of Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (eCAM, doi:10.1093/ecam/nep195).
The 30-question Complementary, Alternative and Integrative Medicine Attitudes Questionnaire (CAIMAQ) was developed by a panel of CAM, allopathic medicine, medical education and survey development experts. In 2007, the surveys were sent to 126 medical schools throughout the United States, which is about 51 percent of U.S. medical schools. A total of 1,770 CAIMAQ surveys were obtained.
Analysis of results revealed five distinct attitudinal domains: desirability of CAM therapies, progressive patient/physician health care roles, mind–body–spirit connection, principles of allostasis and a holistic understanding of disease. The students held the most positive attitude for the ‘mind–body–spirit connection’ and the least positive for the ‘desirability of CAM therapies.’
According to the findings:
- 77 percent of participants agreed to some extent that patients whose doctors know about CAM in addition to conventional medicine, benefit more than those whose doctors are only familiar with Western medicine
- 74 percent of participants agreed to some extent that a system of medicine that integrates therapies of conventional and CAM would be more effective than either type of medicine provided independently
- 84 percent of participants agreed to some extent that CAM contains beliefs, ideas and therapies from which conventional medicine could benefit.
- 49 percent of participating medical students indicated that they have used CAM treatments; however few would recommend or use these treatments in their practice until more scientific assessment has occurred.
The study also found the further along in school the student was, the more likely he or she was to believe their learning regarding CAM therapies was sufficient. Still, more than 60 percent of participants favored more education related to this field during their time in medical school. Although more than half of all U.S. medical schools currently offer some type of CAM course, researchers said these courses could be augmented or streamlined into more formal, standardized curricula.
Researchers reported the most significant limitation of this study was a low response rate, and further work is required to assess more representative populations in order to determine whether the relationships found in this study can be generalized.