Perceptions of complementary and alternative medicine amongst medical students in Singapore--a survey.

Background: In view of the current upsurge of interest in, practice of, and research into, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) worldwide and locally, a survey was conducted to gauge the understanding, interest and knowledge of CAM amongst medical students in a local university.

Methods: A total of 555 first to fifth year medical students completed a questionnaire (54% response rate) designed to assess their knowledge, beliefs and attitudes to CAM in general and 16 common CAM therapies.

Results: Acupuncture was the best known therapy, with 57% claiming to know at least something about it.