Evaluation of the Knowledge Levels and Attitudes of Health Services Vocational School Students about Traditional and Complementary Medicine

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge and attitudes of the students of Health Services Vocational School on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) practices and to evaluate their behaviors. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was carried out between January and March 2019 among 1st and 2nd year students at Cankiri Karatekin University Eldivan Vocational School of Health Services with asking for their permission. The sample of the study consisted of 264 volunteer students who agreed to participate in the study. The 21-item questionnaire prepared by us was requested to be completed by the students. In the first part of the questionnaire, the demographic and socioeconomic status of the participants were asked to determine the socio-economic levels of the participants. In the second part, the students were asked to answer questions that measure their knowledge of CAM applications. Results: The sample comprised of 264 students of which 62.90% were female and 37.10% were male. 53.80% of the students are studying at First Aid and Emergency, 28% are at Home-Care Service and 18.20% are at Child Development program. Among the students who participated in our study, the rate of those who never used CAM applications was 71.20% and the rate of those who thought that these practices were not useful was 4.20%. The students stated that they have the most access to information about CAM on the internet and it was determined that of the 15 methods adopted in the CAM applications regulation, the most commonly known applications were; cup application (n=206), leech application (n=198) and hypnosis (n=193). Conclusion: It was concluded that the level of knowledge of the students in the Vocational School of Health Services about CAM is not sufficient and that various trainings should be given to raise awareness of the students.