1.0 INTODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is available in crude form as
refined pharmaceutical products in the form of capsules, tablets, concentrated
extracts, teas, tinctures and decoctions. Alternative medicine can be used in the
1-3
management of both minor and major illnesses
and many patients prefer itto
the conventional medicines due to their perceived safety, satisfaction with
outcome4, 5, and efficacy of alternative medicine.
Some of the reasons of preference of alternative medicines are due to complex
cultural and personal beliefs, philosophical view on life and death 6, comparison
of experience between conventional health care practitioners andalternative
medicine practitioners 7 by patients.
The use ofalternative medicines is increasing worldwide
8, 9
, between 65-80% of
the world population usealternative medicines as a primary form of treatment
11
10,
. The vulnerable groups to the ADRs ofalternative medicines are fetus, infants,
older children, elderly and the [pregnant women because they are prone to
difficulties from regularly prescribed medicines.
In developing countries, regulation of sales, importation and manufacture
ofalternative medicines are not well scrutinized in terms of safety and efficacy as
compared to the conventional medicines 1.
Studies of doctors’ view onalternative medicines identified a variety views and
potential information needs. An American survey revealed that 61% of doctors
felt they had inadequate knowledge about safety and efficacy ofalternative
medicines and 81% believed that more education was required in this field
12
.
Another survey showed that there are concerns onalternative medicineslikesafety;
lack of proof thatalternative medicines work inadequate knowledge among
doctors and absence of statutory regulations or most therapies 13.
Worldwide surveys show that medical and pharmacy students welcome inclusion
of alternative medicineseducation in medical
14-15
and pharmacy curricula
16
.
Some studies revealed that pharmacists rate their knowledge onalternative
medicines as inadequate and are not confident in answering patient enquiries 17, 18,
19
.
Pharmacists’ ability to learnalternative medicines is influenced by the university
education, prior knowledge onalternative medicines, students’ self-motivation and
perceptions of role of pharmacist and attitude of placement preceptors and other
pharmacists towardsalternative medicines as well as students’ overall beliefs and
attitudes 13.
Many studies reveal that most general practitioners are favorably disposed
toalternative medicines therapies especially the well established ones like
acupuncture, chiropractic,osteopathy.There is also growing literature on the
attitude, beliefs and expectations and values of medical students towards orthodox
medical specialties14
Pharmacy students who were targeted in this study have a three-year course in
pharmacognosy and should be able to evaluatealternative medicines, better than
other students. As a matter of fact, they are more informed about various plants
and other natural sources of medicines as well as how to extract the APIs, test for
activity and do acceptable QC on the products.
Pharmacists should be in the front-line in dealing with any issues arising
fromalternative medicines, and tell the public clearly and weigh the risk-benefit
ratio concerning their use as a means of treatment together with conventional
medicines or in solitude7
The study was concerned with how pharmacy students attitude aboutalternative
medicines differ as a function of their exposure/experience and professionalism.
As students are exposed to more and more specialist teaching do their attitude
changes to alternative medicinesbecome more skeptical12?
Do the students recognize the existence of alternative medicinesand its possible
use in future as a basic mean of treatment? Do they have any concerns about the
use of alternative medicines?
Many health care practitionerswould like over time to use complementary
therapies as part of new patient orientation. If they start out with it, it's a way of
buffering the development of symptoms they might feel during treatment. They
think that if they start out with yoga and relaxation before treatment, it might
decrease symptoms and also make it easier to continue even after treatment
because it will have become part of their lifestyle15
The conventional medical system doesn't support psychological and emotional
issues relating to breast cancer. It's so hard for many patients to cope with their
worry and depression that this can interfere with treatment. The greatest
advantage of these complementary therapies, is the amount of time the
practitioners spend with patients16