Awareness and Prevalence of Traditional and Complementary Medicine in Patients’ Application to Orthopedics and Traumatology Outpatient Clinic

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of this study was to assess the awareness of complementary and alternative medicine practices and the frequency of their utilization among patients attending an orthopedic outpatient clinic. Materials and Methods: Patients who presented to the orthopedics outpatient clinic of the University Hospital between November 15 and December 30, 2022, were invited to participate in this study. A questionnaire containing 16 questions about eight different traditional and complementary approaches, designed to determine patients' knowledge of and attitudes toward each of these practices, was administered by the responsible physician through face-to-face interviews. The questionnaires were administered to 637 volunteers. The results were recorded, and statistical analysis was applied. Results: The volunteers were % 54.7 male and 45.3.2% female participants. The mean age of the participants was 41.52±16.349. It was determined that gender (p=0.3) and education level (p=0.207) did not affect awareness of traditional treatment. However, it was determined that the settlement area affected the awareness of traditional treatment (p<0.05). Conclusions: The popularity of traditional treatment methods and practices is steadily increasing. The public needs more professional health service providers to reach such treatment approaches and raise awareness. Despite this, it was observed that awareness was low among patients who applied to the orthopedics outpatient clinic. There is a need to educate professional health service providers to facilitate public access to these treatment approaches and to enhance social awareness.

Keywords

• Traditional medicine
• Complementary therapy
• Cupping
• Cross-sectional study.

Ortopedi ve Travmatoloji Polikliniğine Başvuran Hastalarda Geleneksel ve Tamamlayıcı Tıp Farkındalığı ve Uygulama Prevalansı

Abstract

Amaç: Çalışmamızın amacı ortopedi ayaktan hasta polikliniğine başvuran hastalar arasındaki geleneksel ve tamamlayıcı tedavi uygulamaları farkındalığı ve uygulanma prevalansını ortaya koymaktır. Araçlar ve Yöntem: Üniversite hastanesi, ortopedi ve travmatoloji ayaktan hasta polikliniğine 1 mart-1 ağustos tarihleri arasında başvuran hastalar arasındaki gönüllüler çalışmaya alınmıştır. Anket 637 gönüllüye uygulanmıştır. Ankette 8 farklı yöntem ile ilgili 16 soru yer almaktadır. Anketin düzenlenme amacı katılımcıların farkındalığını ve uygulama prevalansını ortaya koymaktır. Anketler gönüllüler ile profesyonel sağlık hizmeti sağlayıcıları arasında yüz yüze yapılmıştır. Sonuçlar kayıt altına alınmış olup istatistiksel analiz uygulanmıştır. Bulgular: Gönüllülerin %54.7’si erkek %45.3.2 ü ise kadın katılımcıdır. Katılımcıların yaş ortalaması 41.52±16.349 bulundu. Cinsiyet (p=0.3) ve eğitim düzeyinin (p=0.207) geleneksel tedavi ile ilgili farkındalık üzerine etki etmediği saptandı. Bununla birlikte yaşam alanının geleneksel tedavi farkındalığına etki ettiği belirlendi (p=0.008). Sonuç: Geleneksel tedavi yöntem ve uygulamalarının popülaritesi her geçen gün artmaktadır. Buna rağmen ortopedi polikliniğine başvuran hastalarda farkındalığın düşük olduğu görülmüştür. Halkın bu tür tedavi yaklaşımlarına ulaşabilmesi ve farkındalığı artırabilmesi için daha profesyonel sağlık hizmeti sunucularının eğitilmesine ihtiyaç vardır.

Keywords

• geleneksel tedavi
• tamamlayıcı tedavi
• Kupa tedavisi
• Kesitsel çalışma

References

1. 1. Alrowais NA, Alyousefi NA. The prevalence extent of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) use among Saudis. Saudi Pharm J. 2017;25(3):306-318.
2. 2. Öztürk FG, Şencan İ, Özkara A, Yapar A, Engin EE, Öztürk R. Knowledge and experiences of complementary and alternative medical practices among patients presenting to an orthopedic clinic: A cross-sectional study. Eur. J. Integr. Med. 2022;51: 102117.
3. 3. Organization WH. WHO traditional medicine strategy: 2014-2023. World Health Organization; 2013.
4. 4. Kaya BB, Şahin M. Public knowledge about traditional and complementary medicine. Eur. Respir. J. 2019;5(5):861-867.
5. 5. Won C-H, Hong S-S, Kim CM, et al. Efficacy of apitox (bee venom) for osteoarthritis: A randomized active-controlled trial. J Am apither Soc. 2000;7(3): 53-60.
6. 6. Molsberger AF, Mau J, Pawelec DB, Winkler J. Does acupuncture improve the orthopedic management of chronic low back pain–a randomized, blinded, controlled trial with 3 months follow up. Pain. 2002;99(3):579-587.
7. 7. Michalsen A, Moebus S, Spahn G, Esch T, Langhorst J, Dobos GJ. Leech therapy for symptomatic treatment of knee osteoarthritis: results and implications of a pilot study. Leech. 2002;84(1):88.
8. 8. Roecker CB, Long CR, Vining RD, Lawrence DJ. Attitudes toward evidence-based clinical practice among doctors of chiropractic with diplomate-level training in orthopedics. Chiropr. Man. Ther. 2013;21(1):1-7.

9. 9. Aboushanab TS, AlSanad S. Cupping therapy: an overview from a modern medicine perspective. J Acupunct Meridian Stud. 2018;11(3):83-87.
10. 10. AlBedah A, Khalil M, Elolemy A, et al. The use of wet cupping for persistent nonspecific low back pain: randomized controlled clinical trial. J Altern Complement Med. 2015;21(8):504-508.
11. 11. EL-Mallah R, Elattar EA. Extracorporeal shockwave therapy versus musculoskeletal mesotherapy for Achilles tendinopathy in athlete. Egypt. Rheumatol. 2020;47(1):1-10.
12. 12. Park M, Park J, Kwon S. Evidenced-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2014.
13. 13. Şimşek B, Aksoy DY, Basaran NC, Taş D, Albasan D, Kalaycı MZ. Mapping traditional and complementary medicine in Turkey. Eur. J. Integr. Med. 2017;15:68-72.
14. 14. Kavadar G, Demir SE, Aytekin E, Akbal Y. Use of traditional and complementary medicine for musculoskeletal diseases. Turk. J. Med. Sci. 2019;49 (3):809-814.
15. 15. Bjerså K, Stener Victorin E, Fagevik Olsén M. Knowledge about complementary, alternative and integrative medicine (CAM) among registered health care providers in Swedish surgical care: a national survey among university hospitals. BMC Complement Altern. Med. 2012;12(1):1-10.
16. 16. Elolemy AT, AlBedah AM. Public knowledge, attitude and practice of complementary and alternative medicine in Riyadh region, Saudi Arabia. Oman Med J. 2012;27(1):20.
17. 17. Kilper A, Müller A, Huber R, Reimers N, Schütz L, Lederer A-K. Complementary medicine in orthopaedic and trauma surgery: a cross-sectional survey on usage and needs. BMJ open. 2020;10(9):e037192.
18. 18. Lederer A-K, Baginski A, Raab L, et al. Complementary medicine in Germany: a multi-centre cross-sectional survey on the usage by and the needs of patients hospitalized in university medical centers. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2021;21(1):1-10.
19. 19. Silvanathan S, Low BS. Current public awareness on the safety of traditional and complementary medicines (T&CM) in Malaysia. Eur. J. Integr. Med. 2015;7(2):184-189.
20. 20. Adams J, Peng W, Cramer H, et al. The prevalence, patterns, and predictors of chiropractic use among US adults. Spine. 2017;42(23):1810-1816.
21. 21. Judson PL, Abdallah R, Xiong Y, Ebbert J, Lancaster JM. Complementary and alternative medicine use in individuals presenting for care at a comprehensive cancer center. Integr Cancer Ther. 2017;16(1):96-103.
22. 22. Wilkinson JM, Simpson MD. High use of complementary therapies in a New South Wales rural community. Aust. J. Rural. Health. 2001;9(4):166-171.
23. 23. Wardle J, Lui CW, Adams J. Complementary and alternative medicine in rural communities: current research and future directions. J. Rural Health. 2012;28(1):101-112.
24. 24. Hirschkorn KA, Bourgeault IL. Conceptualizing mainstream health care providers’ behaviours in relation to complementary and alternative medicine. Soc. Sci. Med. 2005;61(1):157-170.