The relationship between individuals' use of complementary and alternative medicine during the pandemic in Turkey and their attitudes towards perceived COVID-19 risk

Zeynep Karaman Özlü; Tülay Klinç; İbrahim Özlü; Harun Ünal; Rümeysa Lale Toraman

doi:10.1016/j.eujim.2022.102194

The relationship between individuals' use of complementary and alternative medicine during the pandemic in Turkey and their attitudes towards perceived COVID-19 risk

Eur J Integr Med. 2022 Dec:56:102194. doi: 10.1016/j.eujim.2022.102194. Epub 2022 Oct 12.

Authors

Zeynep Karaman Özlü¹, Tülay Klinç¹, İbrahim Özlü², Harun Ünal³, Rümeysa Lale Toraman³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Ataturk University, Erzurum 25240, Turkey.
² Emergency Department, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
³ Van Vocational School of Health Services, Van Yuzuncu Yil University, Van, Turkey.

Abstract

Introduction: The perceived COVID-19 risk may lead to the use of various complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modalities to reduce the potential risks of this disease. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between individuals' use of complementary and alternative medicine during the pandemic in Turkey and their attitudes towards perceived COVID-19 risk.

Methods: The study was conducted in Turkey between November 2021 and March 2022 and 1003 individuals voluntarily participated. The Personal Information Form, Attitude Towards Holistic Complementary and Alternative Medicine Scale (HCAMS), and Perceived COVID-19 Risk Scale (PCRS) were used for data collection. To evaluate the data descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, and Cronbach's alpha reliability analysis were used.

Results: In the study, 54.2% of the individuals were found to use CAM during the pandemic, and 56.2% believed that CAM practices were useful in preventing or recovering from COVID-19. It was revealed that 53.8% of the individuals drank herbal tea, 55.2% used religious and spiritual healing to manage, 6.6% used massage, and 10.1% applied aromatherapy. The mean total score of the HCAMS was 28.29 ± 4.99, and the mean total score of the perceived COVID-19 risk scale was 27.78 ± 6.35. A statistically significant positive correlation was identified between the CAM subscale and the emotional risk subscale (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Individuals had a positive attitude towards using CAM during the pandemic period, the risk perception of COVID-19 was high and CAM methods were widely used.The literature should be supported by increasing the current and scientific studies in which CAM methods are questioned and their benefits are investigated during epidemic periods.

Keywords: Beliefs; CAM, Complementary and alternative medicine; COVID-19 risk; Complementary and alternative medicine; HCAMS, Holistic Complementary and Alternative Medicine Scale; HH, Holistic Health; PCRS, Perceived COVID-19 Risk Scale; Pandemic; Perceptions; SPSS, Statistical Package for Social Science.