Abstract
BackgroundAttitudes and beliefs about massage therapy have been explored among health professionals and health profession students, but not for undergraduate preprofessional health sciences students.MethodsThis cross-sectional survey sought to determine pre-professional health students’ attitudes and perceptions toward massage therapy and determine the extent demographic variables such as age, gender, race, along with lifetime massage experience are associated with neutral/negative perceptions.ResultsN = 129 undergraduate students completed the Attitudes Toward Massage scale and 7 supplemental items pertaining to sexuality and therapist gender preference along with questions regarding lifetime massage utilization. Prevalence of massage therapy utilization was 35.6% (lifetime) and 18.6% (last 12-months). Overall, positive attitudes towards massage therapy was observed with participants reporting massage experience expressing more positive massage attitudes (lifetime; p = 0.0081, the past 12 months; p = 0.0311). Participants with no massage experience were more likely to report neutral/negative attitudes toward massage (p = 0.04). Men were more likely to prefer their massage therapist to be of the opposite sex (38.9%) compared to women (2.1%) (p = < 0.0001). Men were less confident than women in their concern of becoming sexually aroused during massage (p = 0.0001) and in the belief that massage is sexually arousing (p = 0.048). Both genders expressed comfort with female and/or male massage therapists, but if given a choice, both prefer a female massage therapist.ConclusionsUndergraduate pre-professional health sciences students have generally positive attitudes towards massage therapy however more research is needed regarding implicit gender bias and/or preferences. This work should inform future research designs examining the impact of attitudes and beliefs on patient referrals to massage therapy.
Highlights
Attitudes and beliefs about massage therapy have been explored among health professionals and health profession students, but not for undergraduate preprofessional health sciences students
Clinician attitudes and beliefs about massage therapy may contribute to their willingness to refer patients who would benefit from such practices
Attitudes and beliefs about massage therapy have been explored among health professionals and health profession students, but not for undergraduate pre-professional health sciences students
Summary
Attitudes and beliefs about massage therapy have been explored among health professionals and health profession students, but not for undergraduate preprofessional health sciences students. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) involves health related practices such as massage therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic therapy, meditation, and yoga that are not considered a part of conventional medical treatments [1, 2]. A national survey found that 12.8% of U.S adults utilized therapeutic massage in their lifetime and approximately 15.4 million (7%) of adults had used massage therapy for disease prevention, musculoskeletal pain, and wellness in the past 12 months [3]. The most common reasons people seek massage therapy are musculoskeletal pain, disease prevention, and wellness [3]. Experience with, and understanding of practices impacts care providers’ patient referrals, health professionals’ attitudes and beliefs about CAM generally and massage therapy is important [18,19,20,21]
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