| Abstract | Uvod: Alternativne metode liječenja uključuju skup različitih terapijskih postupaka, različitog porijekla i različite učinkovitosti i kvalitete. Toj skupini pripadaju brojni medicinski i zdravstveni sustavi, prakse i proizvodi koje se trenutno ne smatra dijelom konvencionalne medicine. Terapijski postupci koji spadaju u alternativne metode liječenja integrirani su tako da čitavo tijelo i iskustvo pacijenta budu uključeni u terapiju. U procesu liječenja alternativnim metodama nastoji se razumjeti interakcije tijela i uma i obuhvatiti holističke, integrativne i alternativne terapijske metode.
Metode: Za potrebe izrade ovog rada konstruiran je anketni upitnik u obliku Google obrasca koji je bio dostupan na društvenim mrežama od listopada 2020. godine do lipnja 2021. godine. Sudjelovanje u istraživanju je bilo anonimno i dobrovoljno, a sudjelovalo je 368 sudionika, pripadnika opće populacije, prosječne dobi <25 godina. Cilj istraživanja bio je ispitati informiranost opće populacije o alternativnim metodama liječenja, koji su njihovi izvori informacija o alternativnim metodama liječenja, u koju svrhu i koliko često ih koriste te jesu li alternativne metode za njih bile korisne i jesu li rezultirale određenim nuspojavama.
Rezultati: Analiza odgovora prikupljenih anketnim istraživanjem pokazala je dobru informiranost sudionika o alternativnim metodama liječenja, a od metoda ponuđenih u anketi, najveći postotak ih je upoznat s biljnom medicinom (76,4%), akupunkturom, aromaterapijom, jogom i kiropraktikom. Dvije trećine sudionika koristilo je neku od alternativnih metoda liječenja, no nije uočena povezanost korištenja alternativnih metoda liječenja s bolovanjem od neke kronične bolesti. Najveći postotak sudionika koristi alternativne metode u svrhu prevencije bolesti (63,3%), i to najčešće različite vitamine i minerale te biljne pripravke. Većina ih navodi kako su alternativne metode za njih bile korisne često (42,2% sudionika) te ih većina nikada nije iskusila negativne nuspojave korištenih metoda (73,2%). Kao izvor informacija većina sudionika navodi Internet (84,8%) te nakon toga obitelj i prijatelje (71,1%). Više od trećine sudionika anketnog istraživanja alternativne metode liječenja smatra jednako učinkovitima kao i klasične medicinske metode.
Zaključak: Alternativne metode liječenja su popularne, isplative, široko dostupne i često jednostavne za korištenje te kao takve ključne za smanjenje morbiditeta i mortaliteta te za kontrolu postojećih zdravstvenog stanja u populaciji. Alternativne terapije privlačne su jer se smatraju kompatibilnijima s vrijednostima pacijenata, svjetonazorom, duhovnom/vjerskom filozofijom ili uvjerenjima o prirodi i značenju zdravlja i bolesti, te kao takve jamče holistički pristup i liječenje samog uzroka bolesti. |
| Abstract (english) | Introduction: Alternative medicine includes a set of different therapeutic procedures, of different origin, and of different efficacy and quality. This group includes a number of medical and health systems, practices and products that are not currently considered part of conventional medicine. Therapeutic procedures that belong to alternative medicine are integrated so that the whole body and the patient's experience are included in the therapy. The process of treatment with alternative methods seeks to understand the interactions of body and mind and to include holistic, integrative and alternative therapeutic methods.
Methods: For the purposes of this paper, a survey questionnaire was constructed in the form of a Google form, which was available on social networks from October 2020 to June 2021. Participation in the study was anonymous and voluntary, with 368 participants, members of the general population, average age <25. The aim of the study was to examine the information of the general population about alternative medicine, what are their sources of information about alternative treatments, for what purpose and how often they are used and whether alternative methods were useful for them and whether they resulted in certain side effects.
Results: The analysis of the data collected by the survey showed that participants were well informed about alternative treatment methods, and of the methods offered in the survey, the largest percentage were familiar with herbal medicine (76.4%), acupuncture, aromatherapy, yoga and chiropractic. Two-thirds of the participants used one of the alternative methods of treatment, but no association of the use of alternative methods of treatment with suffering from a chronic disease was observed. The largest percentage of participants use alternative methods for the purpose of disease prevention (63.3%), most often various vitamins and minerals and herbal preparations. Most of them state that alternative methods have been useful to them often (42.2% of participants) and most of them have never experienced the negative side effects of the methods used (73.2%). As a source of information, most participants cite the Internet (84.8%) and then family and friends (71.1%). More than a third of survey participants consider alternative treatment methods to be just as effective as classical medical methods.
Conclusion: Alternative treatments are popular, cost-effective, widely available and often easy to use and as such are key to reducing morbidity and mortality and to controlling existing health conditions in the population. Alternative therapies are attractive because they are considered more compatible with patients' values, worldview, spiritual / religious philosophy or beliefs about the nature and meaning of health and disease, and as such guarantee a holistic approach and treatment of the cause of the disease. |
