A Cross-Sectional Assessment of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Use among Patients with Chronic Diseases (CDs) in Qassim, Saudi Arabia

• Published in: Healthcare (Switzerland)
• Main Author: Farooqui M.; Alreshidi H.; Alkheraiji J.; Abdulsalim S.; Alshammari M.S.; Kassem L.; Hussein S.; Ismail W.I.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI 2022
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85138547992&doi=10.3390%2fhealthcare10091728&partnerID=40&md5=20039a66213c3c18c21a67cfc7e13e71

This study aims to investigate CAM use among CD patients from Qassim, Saudi Arabia and to compare CAM practice with different demographic and disease characteristics of the participants. A cross-sectional study was conducted among CD patients. During the three-months of data collection period, a total of 377 patients were approached and 208 patients participated in the study, giving a response rate of 55.17%. A p value of <0.05 was considered as significant. Among the study population, 94 (45.2%) patients were CAM users. Diabetes mellitus patients were the majority (48 (51.06%)) followed by hypertensive patients (34 (36.17%)). Spiritual therapies were the most common CAM followed by herbal products. Among CAM users, 41 (19.7%) patients reported disclosing CAM use to their health care providers. Among all the sociodemographic variables, gender (p = 0.029), marital status (p = 0.034) and education level (p = 0.047) were significantly associated with CAM use. In conclusion, the use of CAM among CD patients was relatively high in Qassim. Patients reported using CAM without disclosing to their health care providers which is a major health risk. It is critical to counsel CD patients regarding rational and informed CAM use in order to prevent harmful and unwanted effects. © 2022 by the authors.