Pharmacy students' attitudes towards complementary and alternative medicine
Abstract
Approximately 38 percent of American adults used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in 2007. Despite the popularity of CAM therapies and inquiries to pharmacists regarding these therapies, pharmacists do not feel they are well-equipped to handle patient's questions regarding CAM. Although some studies have assessed pharmacists' attitudes and professional behaviors towards CAM, fewer studies have examined pharmacy students' attitudes towards CAM. This study had two main research questions: 1) what are U.S. pharmacy students' attitudes towards CAM and 2) how may these attitudes impact their intention to advise patients about various CAM therapies as future pharmacists? The objectives were to: 1) explore pharmacy students' attitudes towards CAM, the factors that may be influencing these attitudes, as well as pharmacy students' perceptions towards advising about CAM in the context of the theory of planned behavior (TPB), 2) assess differences in pharmacy students' attitudes towards CAM by demographic characteristics, 3) examine the relationship between attitudes towards CAM and attitudes towards advising about CAM and 4) examine the components of the TPB (attitudes towards advising about CAM, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control) in predicting pharmacy students' intentions to advise about CAM as future pharmacists. To address these objectives, a 73-item questionnaire was developed and distributed using Qualtrics Survey Software to first, second, and third professional year pharmacy students in seven colleges/schools of pharmacy across the United States. Statistical analyses to assess the data included means, frequencies, One-Way ANOVA, Bonferroni corrections, two sample t-tests, Pearson correlations, and multiple regression. Online questionnaires were completed by 542 pharmacy students for an overall response rate of 19.4 percent. Of the 542 students, 65.3 percent were female and 70.5 percent of the respondents were White. Pharmacy students were equally distributed among the three professional years, (34.7%, 31.9%, and 32.7% respectively). A large percentage of students (74.7%) stated they had used CAM in the past, however, only 20.7 percent of students stated that they had taken an elective CAM course. Pharmacy students' attitudes towards CAM were assessed using a 15-item Attitudes Towards CAM scale. The mean score was 52.39 ± 7.72 out of a possible 75. Students agreed that conventional medicine may benefit from ideas/methods of CAM therapies and CAM therapies are not a threat to public health. Personal experience was an influential factor on pharmacy students' attitudes towards CAM, along with coursework, family background, and faculty attitudes. Based on the results, attitudes towards CAM varied by age, gender, race/ethnicity, college/school of pharmacy, type of institution (public vs. private), previous CAM coursework, and previous CAM use. Pearson correlations between pharmacy students' attitudes towards CAM and attitudes towards advising about CAM indicated the relationship is statistically significant (r=0.506, p<0.001). Results of hierarchical multiple regression indicated that demographic variables and attitudes towards CAM accounted for 27.8 percent of the variation in attitudes towards advising about CAM (p<0.001). The theory of planned behavior model was shown to be a good fit for this data as attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control towards advising about CAM explained 57.1 percent of the variation in pharmacy students' intention to advise about CAM as future pharmacists. In addition, based on Pearson correlations, attitudes towards advising, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control were highly correlated with intention to advise about CAM (r=0.710, 0.650, 0.693 respectively). All three correlation coefficients were statistically significant (p<0.001). These results have implications for CAM education in pharmacy school curricula as they indicate pharmacy curricula shape pharmacy students' attitudes towards CAM and their intention to advise about CAM. This information may be used to develop educational modules or courses intended to increase pharmacy students' knowledge regarding CAM, their perceived behavioral control, and willingness to communicate with patients about CAM.
Degree
M.S.
Advisors
Plake, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Pharmacology
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