title: Alternative medicine and the medical profession: views of medical students and general practitioners.
abstract: A survey was undertaken to explore the attitudes and practices of general practitioners and medical students in the United Arab Emirates with regards to forms of therapy not generally accepted by conventional medicine, including herbal medicine, acupuncture, homeopathy, spiritual therapy and osteopathy/chiropractic. The study found that alternative medicine is in common use to complement conventional medicine by a section of educated people within the health care system. Our observations lead us to appreciate its role in community health care and indicate a need to design culturally appropriate medical curricula which incorporate information about alternative medicine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: M Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Hasan
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Das
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Behjat
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000592:standards*; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D003479:Curriculum; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020380:Needs Assessment; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014479:United Arab Emirates