Department of Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.
Department of Psychology, School of Social Studies, College of Humanities, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.
J Integr Med. 2016 Sep;14(5):380-8. doi: 10.1016/S2095-4964(16)60273-X.
Integrative medicine refers to ongoing efforts to combine the best of conventional and evidence-based complementary therapies. While this effort for collaboration is increasing, traditional complementary and alternative medicine (TM-CAM) remains poorly integrated into the current healthcare system of Ghana. At present, it is not clear if practitioners of mainstream medicine favor integrative medicine. The present study, therefore, sought to explore the perceptions of conventional healthcare professionals on integrative medicine.
A qualitative design composed of semi-structured interviews was conducted with 23 conventional healthcare professionals comprising pharmacists, physicians, nurses and dieticians from two quasi-government hospitals in Accra, Ghana.
Participants' knowledge of TM-CAM was low, and although they perceived alternative medicine as important to current conventional healthcare in Ghana, they expressed anxieties about the potential negative effects of the use of TM-CAM. This paradox was found to account for the low levels of use among these professionals, as well as the low level of recommendation to their patients. The practitioners surveyed recommended that alternative medicine could be integrated into mainstream allopathic healthcare in Ghana through improving knowledge, training as well as addressing concerns of safety and efficacy. These findings are discussed under the themes: the knowledge gap, the paradox of TM-CAM, experience of use and prescription, and guided integration. We did not observe any differences in views among the participants.
The conventional healthcare professionals were ready to accept the idea of integrative medicine based on knowledge of widespread use and the potential role of TM-CAM products and practices in improving healthcare delivery in the country. However, to achieve an institutional integration, practitioners' understanding of TM-CAM must be improved, with specific attention to issues of safety, regulation and evidence-based practice of TM-CAM products and services in Ghana.
整合医学是指将常规医学和循证补充疗法相结合的持续努力。尽管这种合作努力在不断增加，但传统的补充和替代医学（TM-CAM）在加纳当前的医疗保健系统中仍然整合得很差。目前，主流医学从业者是否支持整合医学尚不清楚。因此，本研究旨在探讨传统医疗保健专业人员对整合医学的看法。
采用半结构式访谈的定性设计，对加纳阿克拉的两家准政府医院的 23 名传统医疗保健专业人员（包括药剂师、医生、护士和营养师）进行了访谈。
参与者对 TM-CAM 的了解程度较低，尽管他们认为替代医学对加纳当前的常规医疗保健很重要，但他们对 TM-CAM 的潜在负面影响表示担忧。这种矛盾导致这些专业人员的使用率较低，也导致他们向患者推荐的程度较低。调查的从业者建议，通过提高知识、培训以及解决安全性和疗效方面的问题，可以将替代医学纳入加纳的主流顺势疗法医疗保健中。这些发现在以下主题下进行了讨论：知识差距、TM-CAM 的矛盾、使用和处方经验以及有指导的整合。我们没有观察到参与者之间的观点存在任何差异。
传统医疗保健专业人员愿意接受整合医学的理念，因为他们了解 TM-CAM 的广泛使用情况，以及 TM-CAM 产品和实践在改善该国医疗保健服务方面的潜在作用。然而，为了实现机构整合，必须提高从业者对 TM-CAM 的理解，特别关注 TM-CAM 产品和服务在加纳的安全性、监管和循证实践问题。
