COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE USE IN CROATIAN HEALTH STUDIES STUDENTS

Introduction : The use of CAM in healthy population and in patients with certain health conditions was investigated in Croatia, however not on health students and professionals. The aim of the study was to measure the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in health study students. Methods: An online survey was used on students enrolled at the Faculty of Health Studies University of Rijeka, Croatia. The questionnaire covered issues related to sociodemographic data and examined the frequency of using 31 CAM methods, the source of the CAM information and the main reason for using CAM. Results: Seven hundred and twenty-three students were invited to take part in the survey and 207 (29%) responded, most of whom were female (N = 172; 83,1%). The median age of the respondents was 22 years. More than half of the respondents (N=113; 54,6%) were employed. The most commonly used CAM methods were natural products - vitamins and minerals (93,2%), probiotics (80,7%) and herbs (78,3%). Most commonly used mind and body practices were massages (76,3%), deep breathing (61,4%), and spirituality and prayer (56%). The main source of information on CAM was Internet (N=151; 72,9%). Maintenance / improvement of health was the most common reason for using CAM (49,3%). Conclusion: The most commonly used methods of CAM among students in this study were similar to other studies and information about CAM is mostly derived from the Internet.

前言：克罗地亚已有针对健康人群及特定疾病患者使用补充替代医学（Complementary and Alternative Medicine，CAM）的相关研究，但尚未涉及健康专业学生与从业者。本研究旨在评估健康专业学生的补充替代医学使用情况。
研究方法：本研究针对克罗地亚里耶卡大学健康学院的在读学生开展线上问卷调查。问卷内容涵盖社会人口学相关信息，并调研了31种补充替代医学疗法的使用频率、补充替代医学的信息来源及使用补充替代医学的主要动因。
研究结果：本次调查共邀请723名学生参与，最终207名学生完成问卷，应答率为29%。其中女性受访者占多数，共172人，占比83.1%；受访者的中位年龄为22岁，超过半数受访者（N=113，占比54.6%）已就业。最常用的补充替代医学疗法为天然制品类：维生素与矿物质补充剂（93.2%）、益生菌（80.7%）及草本制剂（78.3%）；最常用的心身疗法为按摩（76.3%）、深呼吸训练（61.4%）及灵性修行与祈祷（56%）。补充替代医学信息的主要获取渠道为互联网（N=151，占比72.9%），维持或改善健康状况为使用补充替代医学的最常见动因（占比49.3%）。
结论：本研究中健康专业学生最常用的补充替代医学疗法与其他同类研究结果一致，且补充替代医学的信息大多来源于互联网。