Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence and patterns of CAM use among diabetes patients in Pakistan. In addition, the study also focused on the perceived effectiveness of CAM over conventional therapies, information seeking behavior and CAM disclosure to healthcare providers.
Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional and self-administered questionnaire based study was conducted in tertiary care public hospitals in Pakistan. A prevalence based sample of 350 diabetes patients attending the tertiary hospital in Punjab, Pakistan were selected for the study. All obtained data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Results: Overall, 327 questionnaires were completed and included in the analysis, showing that 52.8% of diabetics had used CAM, with most (62.4%) believing that CAM therapies assist body’s natural forces to heal. CAM usage was significantly associated with gender (P=0.001), level of education (P=0.001), employment status (P=0.03) and monthly income (P<0.001).
Conclusions: Diabetes treatment and management requires compliance to effective therapies at early stages. Healthcare providers should engage diabetics in an open non-judgmental dialogue to ascertain better understanding of diabetes and its management options.
* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.