Attitudes to, and practice of, unconventional medicine by physicians in Italy.

Background: Given the great public demand for unconventional medicines (UM) in most Western countries, the aim of this study was to assess the attitudes to, and supply of, UM by physicians in Italy.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of all of the physicians belonging to the Ordine dei Medici of the province of Parma was carried out by means of an anonymous questionnaire mailed to 2631 physicians and returned by 1734 (66%). The outcome measurements were the prevalence of opinions concerning UM, the prevalence of its practice, and the extent to which demographic and practice characteristics influenced it.

Results: The majority of the physicians (53%) attributed some efficacy to UM. This belief was significantly more frequent amongst female physicians (p<0.01). A small proportion of physicians (8%) claimed to practice some form of UM. The following types of physicians were also more likely to practice UM: rural physicians (p=0.01), those working as National Health Service (NHS) general practitioners or in private practice (p<0.0001) and those specialized in areas relating to the musculoskeletal apparatus or anesthesia/intensive care (p<0.01).

Conclusions: This Italian survey found a smaller proportion of physicians practicing UM on their patients than those indicated by other published surveys.