Alternative medicine and the medical profession: views of medical students and general practitioners

Abstract

A survey was undertaken to explore the attitudes and practices of general practitioners and medical students in the United Arab Emirates with regards to forms of therapy not generally accepted by conventional medicine, including herbal medicine, acupuncture, homeopathy, spiritual therapy and osteopathy/chiropractic. The study found that alternative medicine is in common use to complement conventional medicine by a section of educated people within the health care system. Our observations lead us to appreciate its role in community health care and indicate a need to design culturally appropriate medical curricula which incorporate information about alternative medicine.