Factors Associated with Pediatrician Attitudes over the Use of Complementary and Traditional Medicine on Children in Muscat, Oman

This study aimed to evaluate the attitude of pediatricians toward the use of complementary and Traditional Medicine (TM) on children in Muscat, Oman. A cross-sectional survey was performed using a self-completed questionnaire during the year ۲۰۱۲. A total of ۶۷ pediatricians, comprising of ۳۰ males (۴۴.۸%) and ۳۷ females (۵۵.۲%) participated in the study. The majority of the studied group (۸۳.۵%) was of the opinion that most types of complementary and TM are not safe for children, except spiritual healing, to which ۵۳.۷% considered as safe. About one third (۲۹.۹%) of the participants reported that they might recommend complementary and TM for sick children in the future. Almost half the participants (۵۲.۲%) acknowledged personal use of complementary and TM in the past and ۶۷.۲% reported that their family members used these medicines. Herbal therapy was found to be the most commonly used method (۳۸.۹%) followed by spiritual (۳۳.۹%), cautery (۲۰.۲%) and Curucoma (۱۵.۷%). Other methods, which include; acupuncture, bone healing and Chinese healing were also found to be in use but in rare manner. Knowledge level of TM and complementary medicine of most of the doctors was found to be low but one third of them acknowledged that they may recommend these treatments to their patients in future. Therefore, training pediatricians on the types, benefits and side effects of complementary and TM is recommended.

کلیدواژه ها:

Complementary Medicine ، Traditional Medicine (TM) ، Attitude ، Pediatrician ، Children ، Oman