Comparison of the Knowledge, Attitude, CAM Use and Other Characteristics among Pharmacy Students in Undergraduate Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: The integration of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) with health professional education is required due to the increased use of CAM globally. It will allow students to later provide accurate and impartial information about CAM as a pharmacist. This study sought to characterize how undergraduate pharmacy students at the college of medicine and health science, University of Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia, regarded the knowledge, use, attitude toward, and need for CAM education.

Methods: Northwest Ethiopia's University of Gondar, Gondar, and undergraduate pharmacy students were the subjects of a quantitative cross-sectional study. Data from 303 students were gathered using a pretested, paper-based, self-administered questionnaire that was divided into six components. With the help of the Statistical Package for the Social Science version 21.0, frequencies, percentages, and the mean were determined (SPSS).

Result:  278 of the 303 questionnaires given to pharmacy students in their first year were completed and returned, yielding a 92% response rate. The majority of research participants have used or are now utilizing at least one sort of CAM treatment. Herbal medicine was discovered to be the most well-known CAM modality, followed by spiritual healing, among the fourteen CAM modalities included. With a mean score of 3.68, respondents in the current study had a favorable attitude toward CAM. Interestingly, lectures (54.7%) were discovered to be the most popular way to learn about complementary and alternative medicine, while a lack of scientific research and training were determined to be the major factors preventing CAM adoption. The importance of CAM to future pharmacists was acknowledged by 83.4% of pharmacy students.

Conclusion: Overall, our research shows that pharmacy students are aware of and have used one or more CAM methods in the past or present. Their upbeat outlook was evident from their expressed desire in learning CAM. It is recommended that CAM be included in the pharmacy curriculum to give students the skills and information they will need to become pharmacists in the future.