Turkish general practitioners and complementary/alternative medicine.
BACKGROUND
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is in the spotlight of society. However, what is the position of physicians at this point?


OBJECTIVE
To determine general practitioners' (GP) knowledge, attitudes, and approaches to CAM.


METHODS
All GPs (n=521) practicing in Bursa Province, Turkey were surveyed by a questionnaire.


RESULTS
Responses from 49% of GPs were analyzed. Altogether, most of our physicians (96.5%) had not received any education about CAM, wanted to learn more (74.4%), and their knowledge levels were low (60.8%). About half of them (51%) believed in the efficiency of CAM, whereas 38.0% did not. GPs desire more information about herbal medicine and acupuncture. Only 29% of GPs were using some type of CAM for themselves.


CONCLUSIONS
GPs are aware of the subject's importance and want to learn more about CAM and improve their knowledge. It would be reasonable to provide training possibilities for GPs, primarily for the CAM types highly used by the population and most requested by the physicians.
Department of Family Medicine, Uludag University School of Medicine, Bursa, Turkey. alis@uludag.edu.tr
Alis
A
Ozcakir
Ganime
G
Sadikoglu
Nuran
N
Bayram
M Mumtaz
MM
Mazicioglu
Nazan
N
Bilgel
Isik
I
Beyhan
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002983:Clinical Competence; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019033:Delivery of Health Care, Integrated; D005194:Family Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014421:Turkey