Hanyang Med Rev.  2010 May;30(2):136-141. 10.7599/hmr.2010.30.2.136.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Education and Medical Students' Attitudes toward CAM

• Chang BH

• KMID: 2284501
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.7599/hmr.2010.30.2.136

Abstract

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), also referred to as complementary medicine describes those unconventional healthcare practices that are not considered standard medical approaches. The increasing popularity and use of CAM modalities by consumers indicate a high need to integrate CAM education into conventional medical curriculum and evaluate CAM-related educational outcomes including the medical students' attitudes towards CAM. The number of Korean medical schools offering courses in CAM has risen sharply in recent years. Educational courses of study in CAM have developed. The Korean Society of Complementary and Integrative Medicine proposed a standard 16-hour CAM curriculum for medical students. The CAM Health Belief Questionnaire (CHBQ) is useful in measuring the medical students' attitudes toward CAM theories and practices. The students have shown positive attitudes toward CAM. The findings of positive attitude/beliefs toward CAM is useful for guiding future CAM curriculum development. The didactic CAM instruction curriculum appeared not to have additionally impacted on already positive attitudes toward CAM. It seems that we have to collect information on changes in CAM knowledge and skills to demonstrate an increase in these domains of learning.

Keyword

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM); CAM education; Medical students' attitude; CAM Health Belief Questionnaire (CHBQ)

MeSH Terms

Complementary Therapies
Curriculum
Delivery of Health Care
Humans
Integrative Medicine
Learning
Schools, Medical
Students, Medical
Surveys and Questionnaires

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