ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1529079
Attitudes and Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine: A Cross-Sectional Comparison Between Medical and Non-Medical Students
Provisionally accepted
Mohammad Ali Zakeri1*
Mahlagha Dehghan2
Yasser Soltanmoradi1
Maryam Zakeri1Shiva Monfared1Gulsah Kose3
Hojjat Farahmandnia2
Alaa Hamza Hermis4
Xiao Xu5- 1Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran
- 2Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Kerman, Iran
- 3Faculty of Medicine. Mugla University, Muğla, Muğla, Türkiye
- 4University of Al-Qadisiyah, Al Diwaniyah, Al-Qādisiyyah, Iraq
- 5Department of Nursing, Nantong Health College of Jiangsu Province, Nantong, Jiangsu Province, China
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Students are one of the groups in society that use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).Given their role in promoting the use of CAM and the potential differences in attitudes due to their educational backgrounds, it is important to investigate their perspectives on CAM. This study aimed to compare the attitudes and use of CAM between medical and non-medical students. The study employed a cross-sectional design and was conducted among 525 medical and non-medical students in Iran. Data were collected using a descriptive information form, a CAM questionnaire, and the Holistic Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire (HCAMQ). The data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.The mean HCAMQ scores for medical and non-medical students were 33.10 ± 5.39 and 31.96 ± 5.48, respectively. A significant difference was found between medical and non-medical students in terms of their attitudes toward CAM, as measured by the HCAMQ subscale (p = 0.005).Additionally, 72.8% of medical students and 61.0% of non-medical students reported using at least one CAM method. A positive and statistically significant relationship was observed between medical and non-medical students in terms of their overall use of CAM (p = 0.005) and nutritional supplement methods (p = 0.025). Analysis of the reasons for using CAM revealed that only the use of medicinal herbs showed a significant difference between medical and non-medical students (p = 0.002). Finally, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of consulting a physician before using CAM methods.Given the significant difference in attitudes toward CAM between medical and non-medical students, it is essential to address the distinct educational needs of these two groups. Developing effective and targeted educational programs could improve their knowledge and promote the safe and informed use of CAM.
Keywords: attitudes, opinions, complementary, Alternative, Medicine
Received: 15 Nov 2024; Accepted: 23 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zakeri, Dehghan, Soltanmoradi, Zakeri, Monfared, Kose, Farahmandnia, Hermis and Xu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Mohammad Ali Zakeri, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran
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