Department of Public Health, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Research Rats, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
BMC Complement Med Ther. 2022 Aug 26;22(1):225. doi: 10.1186/s12906-022-03709-8.
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has played a critical role in ensuring universal access to basic health care services around the world. In Bangladesh, conventional medicine is a common approach for health care practices, yet, due to Bangladesh's high out-of-pocket payment, millions of people utilise CAM-based healthcare services for illnesses. In Bangladesh, there is a scarcity of data on how CAM is perceived and utilised. The goal of this study was to determine the proportion and correlates of the utilisation of CAM among patients visiting a tertiary level hospital, in Bangladesh.
A cross-sectional survey involving 1,183 patients who received health care from a hospital in Bangladesh was interviewed for this study. The associated factors on utilising CAM were identified using multivariable logistic regression analysis.
Thirty-three percent of patients utilised CAM exclusively to treat their illnesses, whereas the rest utilised conventional medicine before CAM. Young adult patients aged 26 to 45 years (AOR = 6.26, 95% CI:3.24-12.07), patients without education (AOR = 2.99, 1.81-4.93), and married patients (AOR = 1.79, 1.08-2.97) were the most likely to be only CAM users. The most common reasons for using CAM were belief in its effectiveness, less adverse effects, affordability and lower costs.
In Bangladesh, CAM plays a significant role in health care delivery, with high-levels of patient satisfaction and health benefits. Patients who are older and have a higher level of education are more hesitant to use CAM for their illness, yet CAM has the potential to play a significant role in reducing hospitalisation by providing high reliability and low costs.
补充和替代医学（CAM）在确保全球基本医疗服务普及方面发挥了关键作用。在孟加拉国，常规医学是一种常见的医疗保健方法，但由于孟加拉国的高自费支付，数以百万计的人因疾病而使用基于 CAM 的医疗保健服务。在孟加拉国，关于 CAM 的认知和使用情况的数据稀缺。本研究的目的是确定在孟加拉国一家三级医院就诊的患者中使用 CAM 的比例和相关因素。
本研究对 1183 名在孟加拉国一家医院接受医疗保健的患者进行了横断面调查。使用多变量逻辑回归分析确定使用 CAM 的相关因素。
33%的患者专门使用 CAM 治疗疾病，而其余患者则在使用 CAM 之前使用了常规医学。年龄在 26 至 45 岁的年轻成年患者（AOR=6.26，95%CI：3.24-12.07）、没有受过教育的患者（AOR=2.99，1.81-4.93）和已婚患者（AOR=1.79，1.08-2.97）最有可能仅使用 CAM。使用 CAM 的最常见原因是相信其有效性、不良反应少、负担得起和成本低。
在孟加拉国，CAM 在医疗保健中发挥着重要作用，患者满意度和健康效益高。年龄较大且受教育程度较高的患者对使用 CAM 治疗疾病犹豫不决，但 CAM 有潜力通过提供高可靠性和低成本来显著减少住院治疗。
