Intention to Encourage Complementary and Alternative Medicine Among General Practitioners and Medical Students

Abstract

The authors' goal was to identify factors explaining intention to encourage a patient to follow complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatment among general practitioners (GPs), fourth-year medical students, and residents in family medicine. They surveyed 500 GPs and 904 medical studentsvia a self-administered mailed questionnaire that they based on the Theory of Planned Behavior. Respondents expressed a neutral level of intention to encourage CAM approach. Variables explaining 75% of variance of intention of all participants were: moral norm, β = 0.34, p < .0001; perceived behavioral control, β = 0.29, p < .0001; attitude, β = 0.22, p < .0001; descriptive norm, β = 0.13, p < .0001; and professional status, (GPs, β = -0.07, p < .0001; residents, β = -0.07, p < .0001). Facilitating conditions and developing a better perception of control over perceived obstacles could help enhance health-care practitioners' intentions to use CAM. Also, a clear position on the part of the medical community would help to define a professional norm in line with the moral norm.

Keywords:

• complementary and alternative medicines
• general practitioner
• intention
• medical student
• Theory of Planned Behavior