Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies
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Focus Alternat Complement Ther©2005 Pharmaceutical Press
Focus Altern Complement Ther 1998; 3: 187
Demands for complementary medicine (CM) are increasing worldwide. We investigated the integration of CM patient care (PC), teaching (T) and research (R) together with the prevailing conditions within the system of Medical Universities in Germany.
Between September 1997 and March 1998, within the framework of an anonymous epidemiological study, questionnaires (45 items) were sent to the directors of medical departments and institutes at all universities in Germany (n = 753). The aim of the study was to establish the personal attitudes/views of those questioned, and the status quo of CM at German Medical Universities.
A total of 467 questionnaires were completed and returned (response rate 62%). The response by heads of institutes was 49.7%, that of senior physicians 32.1% and that of junior doctors 13.2%. Of the responders, 306 (65%) were qualified to teach at university level; 38.1% had a positive, 31.4% a negative attitude towards CM. Integration of CM in medical facilities was supported by 60.6% of responders, with 80% in favour of CM-T and 83.7% favoured CM-R. Currently, CM-PC is being offered in the departments of 27.8% of the responding physicians and CM-T in 21.8% of the universities; CM-R is carried out by 22.5%.
Among the responders a tendency to adopt a positive attitude towards CM was observed. Although integration of CM research and CM teaching in particular is supported by a majority, only a small percentage of universities have actually implemented this. Economic and sociopolitical factors appear to be more important reasons for lack of integration of CM in universities than the personal attitude of the directors of Medical Universities approached in this survey.
