Physicians' attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine and their knowledge of specific therapies: 8-year follow-up at an academic medical center

Dietlind L Wahner-Roedler; Mark C Lee; Tony Y Chon; Stephen S Cha; Laura L Loehrer; Brent A Bauer

doi:10.1016/j.ctcp.2013.09.003

Physicians' attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine and their knowledge of specific therapies: 8-year follow-up at an academic medical center

Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2014 Feb;20(1):54-60. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2013.09.003. Epub 2013 Oct 22.

Authors

Dietlind L Wahner-Roedler¹, Mark C Lee², Tony Y Chon², Stephen S Cha³, Laura L Loehrer², Brent A Bauer²

Affiliations

¹ Division of General Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA. Electronic address: wahnerroedler.dietlind@mayo.edu.
² Division of General Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
³ Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.

PMID: 24439646
DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2013.09.003

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine changes in attitude toward complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies and knowledge of specific CAM therapies among internists at our institution. We compared the results of a survey given in 2004 and 2012. During this time period, the attitudes of physicians in our department of medicine toward CAM became much more positive, and physicians showed an increased willingness to use CAM to address patient care needs. However, knowledge of and experience with many specific CAM treatments did not change. These results will be used to develop further educational interventions and research studies.

Keywords: CAM; Integrative medicine; Physician attitudes; Physician education; complementary and alternative medicine.

MeSH terms

Adult
Attitude of Health Personnel*
Clinical Competence
Complementary Therapies / psychology*
Data Collection
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Physicians / psychology*
Practice Patterns, Physicians'*