Evaluation of medical students’ conception on integrative and complementary medicine in Basic Attention

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the conception of medical students on Integrative and Complementary Medicine in basic attention. Methods: The research is transversal, descriptive and quantitative. The sample consisted of 100 medical students, a socioeconomic questionnaire and a questionnaire on Integrative and Complementary Practices were applied to evaluate students’ knowledge, experience and opinion on the use of Integrative and Complementary Practices. Descriptive statistical analysis was used in terms of frequency and percentage. Results: It was observed the predominance of the female sex in the studied group. the average age is 22.93 years. Predominated the Catholic religion (52.17%) and the predominant income was “more than 20 minimum wages” for 40.21% of the participants. Although many medical schools do not offer in the curriculum the subject on Integrative Practices and Complementary Practices, most students are aware of what the subject is and there is a growing interest in learning about complementary therapies as there is an increased demand for these practices. Conclusion: The results of this research evidenced that most of the students have knowledge about the topic addressed. And most do not have prejudice with the use of practices, as long as this does not cause harm to the patient.