Evaluation of the attitude and behavior of the individual and complementary medicine of 18-65 years applied to the family health center in Trabzon development neighborhood

Introduction: We aimed to examine the attitudes of patients applying to the Family Health Center towards Traditional and Complementary Medicine, and to evaluate the Traditional and Complementary Medicine behaviors and their general opinions after this experience. Material method: We carried out our study between August 2019 and January 2020 in Kalkınma Family Health Center in Trabzon. We included 334 volunteers aged between 18 and 65 in the study. We applied the demographic information questionnaire prepared by our research team to the participants through face-to-face interviews with questions about attitudes and behaviors about Traditional and Complementary Medicine. We evaluated the attitudes, behaviors of the participants about Traditional and Complementary Medicine and their relationship with sociodemographic characteristics. Results: The number of participicants who experinced at least one of the traditional and complementary medicine practices was 43 (12.9%). The most common of traditional and complementary medicine practices was dry mug / wet mug application with 23 (46.7%) people. In the study, 18 (41.8%) participants who experienced traditional and complementary medicine had these practices in non-medical places (home, office, etc.). There was no significant difference between the healthcare professional and the other professional group worker in terms of the relationship between having traditional and complementary medicine experience in medical centers or non-medical places (p=0.133). Among the reasons leading to the application of traditional and complementary medicine was the suggestion of friends made to 26 (60.4%) people. Eight (18.6%) people with traditional and complementary medicine practice experience shared their experience with the family physician / specialist. Family physician / specialist reacted positively to 7 (87.5%) of 8 people sharing traditional and complementary medicine experience. 227 (68%) people wanted to learn about traditional and complementary medicine practices. Of those who wanted information, 216 (95%) people wanted to get information from their family physician/specialist. Conclusion: More than half of those with practical experience traditional and complementary medicine were treated in non-medical places. Almost all of those who want to get information about these practices, want to get this information from the family physicians more than other resources. The fact that there is already a regulation on the practice of traditional and complementary medicine is valuable in this regard. Increasing the knowledge of traditional medical practices of healthcare workers can be provided through trainings. Keywords: Family Health Center, Traditional, Complementary Medicine, attitude, behavior