Knowledge, Attitude And Practices Regarding AYUSH Among The Allopathic Doctors In Mandya District.

Background & Objective: Integration of complementary or alternative medicine (CAM) with allopathy medicine is a feasible solution to the human resource shortage in India. The scope of this integration will be influenced by the acceptance of CAM by allopathic practitioners. Objective is to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding AYUSH system of medicine among medical officers in Mandya district. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out over a period of 3 months involving 70 medical officers from various PHC in Mandya district. A pretested and structured questionnaire about the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding AYUSH was administered to all the medical officers. Data was entered in excel sheet and results were expressed in terms of percentage and proportions. Results: The average age of the study subjects was 34.85 ± 5.58 years. The most common source of information about AYUSH among study subjects was from colleagues/friends/ relatives. Only 35% of them had referred a patient to an Ayurveda practitioner and 35% had prescribed ayurveda medicines. Regarding the safety of ayurvedic medicine, 65% felt that ayurveda medicines need more scientific testing. Only 30% felt that AYUSH and allopathy should be integrated. Conclusion: The study concludes that the knowledge of the study subjects was inadequate; majority of them felt that ayurveda medicines need more scientific testing. Most of them were of the opinion that AYUSH and allopathy should not be integrated. But in practice nearly half of them were prescribing ayurveda medicines in their routine practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]