Objective: to analyze the knowledge about phytopharmaceuticals of specialists affiliated to secondary care hospitals in the State of Morelos, Mexico.
Material and methods: the study was conducted through a survey in which 278 medical doctors participated. They were randomly selected from Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), Sistema de Salud de Morelos (SSM) and private practice facilities. Their knowledge was rated as: "low," "medium," and "advanced." To determine the frequency and distribution of the variables, univariate analysis was done and to ascertain the associations between variables, the chi(2) test was used.
Results: 79.1% of physicians had low level of knowledge; 11.1% had medium level and 9.1% had advanced knowledge; the variable "working in the morning shift" was associated with advanced knowledge (p = 0.036).
Conclusions: The low level of knowledge about phytopharmaceuticals should prompt to include this topic within the academic programs of health workers and the continuous medical education activities for practicing physicians.