Attitudes and Knowledge of Community Pharmacists Toward Complementary and Alternative Medicine: A Narrative Review

The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in Australia is widespread, and self-treatment with CAM often occurs. Community pharmacies are a major supplier of CAM in Australia; consequently pharmacists may be approached by consumers in relation to self-treatment.

The study intended to appraise peer-reviewed literature regarding the supply of CAM in retail pharmacies and pharmacists' knowledge and attitudes in relation to it.

The research team performed a narrative review of peer-reviewed studies published between January 1997 and December 2017. Four electronic databases-Web of Science, ScienceDirect, CINAHL, and PubMed-were systematically searched using keywords. A search strategy was devised using 4 keywords: knowledge and attitude, complementary and alternative medicine, stress, and pharmacist. English-language, full-text studies were sought, and the team considered only the results of studies conducted in Australia or in countries with similar healthcare systems.

The study is a literature study.

Performance rankings were considered, with 10 studies being identified. Pharmacists were generally positive about CAM; however, they displayed a degree of uncertainty, particularly about efficacy and safety, that pointed toward a lack of confidence and a desire for better education. Knowledge, both self-rated and assessed, was lacking. Few studies explored the use of CAMs for specific physical-health conditions and fewer still addressed mental health.

Pharmacists are ideally placed to interact with consumers and are often the first point of contact for those people wanting to self-treat. Pharmacists may lack the necessary practice knowledge and skills to appropriately advise consumers about CAM or about those conditions where self-treatment products fall predominantly into the CAM category, such as for stress.