Attitudes Toward Alternative Medical Therapies, by Degree.
| Attitudes | Degree | Total Mean (SD) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MD Mean (SD) | PhD Mean (SD) | Other Mean (SD) | ||
| General attitudes | ||||
| Both the mind and body must be treated for the patient to regain complete health (n = 142) | 1.68 (0.90) | 1.72 (0.88) | 1.60 (0.82) | 1.68 (0.88) |
| The mind-body connection to health also contains an important spiritual component (n = 142) | 1.97 (0.99) | 2.27 (1.55) | 2.00 (1.12) | 2.08 (1.23) |
| My general attitude toward alternative medicine is positive (n = 142) | 2.93 (1.25) | 2.44 (1.53) | 2.20 (1.20) | 2.66 (1.37) |
| My attitude toward alternative medicine has changed substantially over the past few years (n = 141) | 3.55 (1.69) | 3.26 (1.77) | 3.40 (1.79) | 3.43 (1.73) |
| Placebo effects | ||||
| Alternative medical therapies are mainly useful for their placebo effects instead of as specific remedies (n = 143) | 4.63 (1.34) | 4.92 (1.49) | 4.80 (1.28) | 4.75 (1.38) |
| Any improvement perceived by the patient using alternative medical therapies is mainly due to the alternative therapists empathy, time spent with the patient and/or perceived individualized treatment (n = 143) | 4.60 (1.36) | 5.17 (1.39) | 4.95 (1.50) | 4.84 (1.40) |
| If a patient improves because of a placebo effect, the patient has not really improved, even if the improvements are verified by clinical findings (n = 140) | 5.64 (1.27) | 5.34 (1.42) | 5.10 (1.21) | 5.46 (1.32) |
| Using alternative medical therapies | ||||
| Patients with an untreatable condition should be encouraged to seek alternative therapies (n = 141) | 3.66 (1.58) | 2.63 (1.51) | 3.00 (1.52) | 3.21 (1.61) |
| A physician should not advise any patient to try alternative therapies because it might raise false hopes (n = 142) | 4.88 (1.38) | 5.28 (1.31) | 5.00 (1.38) | 5.03 (1.36) |
All items were rated on a 7-point scale: 1 = strongly agree, 7 = strongly disagree. Items are listed within category in order of total sample’s decreasing agreement.