Knowledge, attitudes and practices, about complementary and/or alternative medicine amongst some colombian physicians.

Conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas de algunos médicos colombianos acerca de la medicina alternativa y/o complementaria

Objective: to determine the knowledge, attitudes and practices that have doctors dedicated to the medicine prevailing in the colombian health system, about alternative and / or complementary medicine. Materials and methods: a cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out, for which a survey sent by electronic platform to 400 physicians of some Colombian cities was applied during the month of April 2016. Results: were analyzed 127 surveys. 62% of the participants were women, 54% of the respondents were from the city of Medellin and 40% had postgraduate degree. The most popular or known areas among the respondents were: Acupuncture, Homeopathy and Neural Therapy. The level of self-perception of knowledge in all areas was low. About 89% of respondents are not familiar with World Health Organization strategies about alternative medicine. Very few of the respondents have undergone undergraduate or continuing training in these areas. In general there is a tendency of opinion indifferent to the subject. 78.74% would be willing to refer patients to a specialist in complementary and alternative medicine. Less than 50% recommend to their patients to seek help in alternative medicine. Conclusions: despite the great lack of knowledge and an indifferent opinion regarding complementary and alternative medicine, there is a positive attitude in integrating the complementary and alternative medicine into the current medical system, which is regulated by the authorities and exercised by suitable professionals.