Evaluation of the knowledges, beliefs and attitudes of patients who applied to Dicle University Family Medicine polyclinic and GETAT polyclinic regarding traditional and complementary medicine practices

The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the beliefs and attitudes of the patients who applied to the Traditional and Complementary Medicine (TCM) outpatient clinic and the Family Medicine outpatient clinic. As a consequence of this study, the interest of the society in TCM methods and how much they trust these methods will be evaluated, and this information will guide us, the physicians, in the improvement of TCM polyclinics, which are expected to be opened in hospitals in the future. Materials and Methods This study was applied to a total of 176 participants, who were divided into two groups as using and not using the TCM method. In our study, Traditional and Complementary Medicine Attitude Scale (TCMAS) and CAM Health Belief Questionnaire (CHBQ) were used. Statistical analyzes were made with IBM SPSS 24.0. Results The mean age of the cases was 36.01±8.79 years (minimum 21, maximum 67 years), 63.6% of them were female. Of the participants, 98 (55.7%) were stated that they knew about TCM. Of them, 98.9% (n=87) who used the TCM method recommended the TCM. The CHBQ scores of those who used TCM were found to be significantly higher than those who did not (p=0.036). In addition, the Intellectual Perspective on Complementary Medicine (IPCM), the sub-dimension of TCMAS, scores of those using TCM were found to be significantly higher than those of non-users (p=0.014). Conclusion It was concluded that the main factor affecting the use of TCM is the belief in these methods. Increasing the level of knowledge of people who receive health services on TCM, sharing positive application results with the public, and determining the current situation by using TCMAS and CHBQ scales when necessary will increase the use of TCM applications. Keywords: Traditional and Complementary Medicine, Attitude, Beliefs.