International Journal of Health Policy and Management

International Journal of Health Policy and Management

Factors Associated with Pediatrician Attitudes over the Use of Complementary and Traditional Medicine on Children in Muscat, Oman

Document Type : Short Communication

Authors
Muna Ahmed Al Saadoon 1
Mohammed Suweilem Al Jafari 2
Bader Darwish Al Dhouyani 2
Syed Rizvi 3
1 Department of Child Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman
2 Ministry of Health, Muscat, Oman
3 Family Medicine and Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman
10.15171/ijhpm.2015.11
Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the attitude of pediatricians toward the use of complementary and Traditional Medicine (TM) on children in Muscat, Oman. A cross-sectional survey was performed using a self-completed questionnaire during the year 2012. A total of 67 pediatricians, comprising of 30 males (44.8%) and 37 females (55.2%) participated in the study. The majority of the studied group (83.5%) was of the opinion that most types of complementary and TM are not safe for children, except spiritual healing, to which 53.7% considered as safe. About one third (29.9%) of the participants reported that they might recommend complementary and TM for sick children in the future. Almost half the participants (52.2%) acknowledged personal use of complementary and TM in the past and 67.2% reported that their family members used these medicines. Herbal therapy was found to be the most commonly used method (38.9%) followed by spiritual (33.9%), cautery (20.2%) and Curucoma (15.7%). Other methods, which include; acupuncture, bone healing and Chinese healing were also found to be in use but in rare manner. Knowledge level of TM and complementary medicine of most of the doctors was found to be low but one third of them acknowledged that they may recommend these treatments to their patients in future. Therefore, training pediatricians on the types, benefits and side effects of complementary and TM is recommended.
Keywords
Complementary Medicine
Traditional Medicine (TM)
Attitude
Pediatrician
Children
Oman
Subjects
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  • Received Date 23 September 2014
  • Revised Date 31 December 2014
  • Accepted Date 31 December 2014
  • First Published Date 01 February 2015
  • Published Date 01 February 2015