The knowledge, attitude and practices of registered complementary medicine professionals on the use of Complementary Medicine (CM) modalities for the treatment of autism

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Complementary medicine (CM) practitioners are professionals who practice natural medicinal therapies. Complimentary medicine has been in existence from the 1700s. In recent times healthcare has shifted more towards natural medicinal therapies due to their known limited side-effects. Autism is a major neurodevelopmental disorder which is on the rise globally and the effects thereof are impairing to an individual’s everyday functioning. In South Africa and the world in general there is a lack of research in the field of autism and complementary medicine. Research specifically on autism is very scarce in South Africa (Pillay et al. 2020). Due to this lack of information, disorders such as autism are largely ignored, and the community then treat children who are autistic with disrespect and prejudice these children are often marginalised in the education sectors (Baraza 2019). The availability of information or education regarding the uses of complementary medicine for autism and other impairing neurodevelopmental disorders should be improved. This will be of great advantage to the autistic community and the healthcare professionals in the field. OBJECTIVE The first objective was to determine the extent of knowledge in the usage of complementary medicine for autism amongst practitioners registered with the Allied Health Professions Council of South Africa (AHPCSA). Another main objective was to establish the attitudes and practices related to usage of CM for autism. METHODOLOGY A quantitative descriptive survey was conducted in the form of a web-based questionnaire via GoogleDocs® to determine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of registered complementary medicine professionals regarding the use of complementary medicine modalities for treatment of autism symptoms. The sample was obtained from the (AHPCSA) website and through organisations for the respective professions who are registered with AHPCSA namely: Aromatherapy Association of South Africa (AromaSA), Homeopathic Association of South Africa (HSA), South African Association of Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture (SAACMA) and South African Naturopathy Association (SANA). Complementary medicine professionals included were aromatherapists, homoeopaths, acupuncturists, and naturopaths. The data was analysed using frequency tables and bar charts in relation to categorical variables. Fishers exact test was used to analyse certain data. RESULTS One hundred and thirty-two online surveys were completed and used for analysis out of the expected 282 (a response rate of 46.8%). CONCLUSION This study concluded that complementary medicine professionals are very uncertain when it comes to their knowledge of complementary medicine for autism. However, Complementary medicine professionals’ attitude towards complementary medicine for autism seems to be positive. that Complementary Medicine could benefit autistic people and the practices of these Complementary Medicine Professionals seem to be showing good outcomes in the field of autism. The uncertainty in the knowledge of complementary medicine professionals shows a lack of information in the related field and the dire need to create more research and education in this field to create more usage of CM for autism.