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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1416803

An International, Cross-Sectional Survey of Psychiatry Researchers and Clinicians: Perceptions of Complementary, Alternative, and Integrative Medicine

Provisionally accepted
Jeremy Y. Ng Jeremy Y. Ng *Jassimar Kochhar Jassimar Kochhar Holger Cramer Holger Cramer
  • University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Psychiatry is a branch of medicine that focuses on mental, behavioural and emotional well-being. Complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine has been an increasingly popular choice for patients with psychiatric disorders, therefore our study aimed to explore the perceptions of psychiatry researchers and clinicians on the use of CAIM. Methods: We conducted an online, anonymous, cross-sectional survey for researchers and clinicians who have published their work in psychiatry medical journals that are indexed in MEDLINE. 42,667 researchers and clinicians were sent the link to the survey after extraction of their email addresses from their respective publications. Respondents were asked numerous multiple-choice questions regarding their perceptions on various CAIM therapies, followed by an open-ended question where they could include any additional thoughts. Results: The survey was completed by 987 respondents, with a majority identifying as a researcher (n=447, 46.51%), or as both a researcher and a clinician (n=368, 38.29%) within the field of psychiatry. Most respondents (n=629, 78.04%) perceived mind-body therapies such as meditation, biofeedback, hypnosis, and yoga to be the most promising CAIM therapy for the prevention, treatment, and management of psychiatric diseases. Many participants said that they agree (n=285, 38.14%) that most CAIM therapies in general are safe, however, many disagree that CAIM therapies are effective (n=245, 32.93%). Respondents indicated that there is value to conducting research on CAIM therapies (n=356, 47.91%), and that there should be more funding allocated to researching these therapies (n=265, 35.71%). Respondents are also in agreement that clinicians should receive training on CAIM therapies through formal education (n=295, 39.76%) or supplementary education (n=380, 51.28%). Conclusions: The findings from this study showed that there is great interest and potential in researching CAIM within the field of psychiatry. This information can be used as a basis for further research and to develop tailored educational resources for researchers and clinicians in psychiatry.

    Keywords: complementary and alternative medicine, Integrative Medicine, Psychiatry, clinicians, researchers, perceptions

    Received: 13 Apr 2024; Accepted: 17 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Ng, Kochhar and Cramer. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Jeremy Y. Ng, University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, 72076, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.