Complementary and Alternative Medicine Usage and Its Determinant Factors Among Iranian Infertile Couples Publisher Pubmed



Dehghan M^{1, 2} ; Mokhtarabadi S⁵ ; Heidari FG^{3, 4} Show Affiliations
Source: Journal of Complementary and Integrative Medicine Published:2018

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the status of utilizing some complementary and alternative medicine techniques in infertile couples. This was a cross-sectional study conducted on 250 infertile couples referred to a hospital in Kerman using convenience sampling. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to study the prevalence and user satisfaction of complementary and alternative medicines. Results indicated that 49.6% of the infertile couples used at least one of the complementary and alternative medicines during the past year. Most individuals used spiritual techniques (71.8% used praying and 70.2% used Nazr) and medicinal plants (54.8%). Safety is the most important factor affecting the satisfaction of infertile couples with complementary treatments (couples think that such treatments are safe (54.8%)). Concerning high prevalence of complementary and alternative treatments in infertile couples, incorporating such treatments into the healthcare education and promoting the awareness of infertile individuals seem crucial. © 2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.