Patterns of patient reluctance to receive complementary-medicine treatments in a hospital setting: A cross-sectional study

Objective: We aim to characterize the patient population that exhibits reluctance to undergo complementary medicine (CM) treatments in a hospital setting. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional prospective study among patients prior to hospitalization using structured questionnaires in a single center in Israel. Participants were asked to rate their degree of consent to receiving CM treatments during hospitalization. Results: The CM-reluctant group was 7.1 % of the study cohort. The CM modalities most commonly refused were spiritual guidance, acupuncture, and energy and healing therapies. The CM-reluctant population showed a weaker relation to spiritual content and tended to value complementary medicine's effectiveness less in comparison to the CM-consenting group. The main reason for reluctance was skepticism of the perceived effectiveness of CM. Conclusions: With skepticism playing a major role in decision making, we should question whether the Stakeholders in the field of CM and public health services are succeeding in explaining the benefits and risks of CM treatments.