Abstract
BackgroundIn China, demands for disease prevention and health care and the prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases have increased. TCM and general hospitals are increasingly utilizing TCM strategies for chronic non-communicable disease care and prevention. This study aimed to investigate health care professionals’ (HCPs’) perceptions of TCM for prevention, their TCM knowledge, and their abilities to provide such services in TCM and general hospitals.MethodsThis cross-sectional study investigated Chinese medicine hospitals and Chinese medicine departments in general hospitals in five Chinese cities. A self-designed questionnaire used to study 400 HCPs focused on basic demographic data, the demand for and effects of TCM for prevention and treatment, and their perceptions of such service implementation. The data analysis included chi-squared tests and descriptive and multi-factor analyses.ResultsThe 335 HCP respondents comprised 230 (68.7%) females and 105 (31.3%) males, 75.5% of whom overall had knowledge of TCM preventive and health care services. Respondents older than 40 years (28.6%) had greater knowledge of and satisfaction with TCM for preventive and health care services than younger respondents. Moreover, 97.7% of the older respondents were clearly willing to provide TCM preventive services for chronic diseases, 67.8% of whom indicated that their hospitals already provided TCM for prevention and treatment. According to the chi-squared test results, the TCM service characteristics in hospitals, hospital outlooks regarding TCM and TCM development in hospitals were the primary factors affecting the respondents’ perceptions of TCM for chronic disease care and prevention. The multivariate analysis showed high satisfaction as significantly associated with older providers and those with lengthier work experience, particularly among those who worked in hospitals that provided typical TCM services and had positive attitudes towards TCM.ConclusionThe study HCPs had relatively satisfactory knowledge of and positive attitudes towards TCM for chronic disease care and prevention and would use it in practice. Their perceptions and satisfaction levels correlated closely with the successful application of TCM for preventive care and treatment in hospitals. While the use of TCM for prevention and treatment was well developed in some hospitals, further improvements are warranted.
Highlights
In China, demands for disease prevention and health care and the prevalence of chronic noncommunicable diseases have increased
Regarding the department in which they worked, 35.8% were in the internal medicine department and 23% were in the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) department
Health care professionals acknowledged that educational presentations, the use of television and networking were more effective methods of disseminating TCM prevention and treatment information, whilst face-to-face discussions and recommendations from family and friends were less effective. These findings indicate that health care professionals are likely to trust official sources of information; government, social media and professional bodies might exert a positive effect on the further popularization of TCM for prevention and treatment
Summary
In China, demands for disease prevention and health care and the prevalence of chronic noncommunicable diseases have increased. Over thousands of years of practice, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has accumulated many methods, approaches, and beliefs for chronic disease care and prevention, which embody the philosophy of ‘Zhi-Wei-Bing’. The Chinese government has instituted nearly 100 regulations to support the development of TCM, for chronic disease care and prevention. Most regulations emphasized the importance of ‘Zhi-Wei-Bing’, which is crucial to realizing the unique role and advantages of TCM [4]. The concept of ‘Zhi-Wei-Bing’ is an important part of TCM and a unique part of traditional Chinese culture. The ‘Zhi-Wei-Bing’ philosophy includes disease prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation, which is similar to the concept of prevention described by the World Health Organization (WHO) [5]
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