Attitudes and Practices of University Health Education Faculty Related to Alternative Medicine

Abstract

This study determined attitudes and practices, including gender differences, of university health education faculty regarding advocacy and use of alternative medicine. A random sample of health education instructors from institutions offering degrees in health education was surveyed using a written questionnaire. Health education instructors from 41 out of 48 states and territories with programs in health education responded to this survey, comprising a total of 220 usable responses. Results of this survey indicated health education instructors were more likely than the general population to use alternative medicine therapies. The majority of instructors who used such therapies reported high to moderate levels of satisfaction. Significant gender differences were uncovered regarding use, satisfaction, and advocacy for alternative medicine.

Alternative Medicine Attitudes and Practices of U.S. College Students

“…The relatively minor exposure of students in this sample to any formal courses of alternative medicine (only 6% indicated having taken any courses), lends weight to the call for inclusion of such courses on college campuses (Patterson & Graf, 2000). Compared to previous studies of advocacy and use of alternative medicine by university health faculty (Lamarine, Fisher & Sbarbaro, 2003), support for scientific evidence was similar (93% of faculty vs. 90% students) and use was considerably lower by students (44% of students vs. 66% of faculty) in this sample. In the qualitative analysis, the most frequently utilized alternative medicine practices used by students were similar to those of faculty with herbs ranked first for both groups (21% of faculty vs. 47% of students), dietary supplements were second for students (fifth for faculty), and chiropractic third for students (fourth for faculty), followed by acupuncture/ acupressure (see Figure 1).…”

“…Instrumentation A short, 16-item written survey developed for use in an earlier study (Lamarine, Fisher, & Sbarbaro, 2003) was adapted for the present study. Alternative medicine was selected as the operational variable, in lieu of CAM, in an attempt to examine therapies that might be selected in place of traditional (allopathic) medicine, rather than as complements to it.…”

“…In addition to demographic data subjects were asked to list alternative therapies they had used and their frequency of use. Reliability and validity of the instrument were established during the initial pilot study, which preceded the earlier research (Lamarine, Fisher, & Sbarbaro, 2003).…”