Attitudes of the population of the city of Varna to implementing alternative methods in treating health failures

Abstract

Introduction: In recent years, alternative medicine has become more and more preferred for the treatment of certain health problems. In cases where conventional methods do not produce results, alternative therapies are becoming a lifeline for the sick.

Aim: The study aims to explore the attitudes among the population of the city of Varna to use alternative methods for the treatment of their health problems.

Materials and Methods: A direct anonymous survey among 103 citizens of Varna, average age 31 years, has been held. The study covers the period June - July 2016. Data are processed with the statistical program SPSS v.20, using variance, dispersive and comparative analyses.

Results and Discussion: An interesting fact is that 84.20% of the respondents believe that alternative medicine has a place in the treatment of diseases, but for their own health problems prefer conventional medicine. Almost half of the respondents (46.60%) use homeopathy as a method of treatment. The survey results show that the population is familiar mostly with herbalism and homeopathy (over 80%), while methods such as acupuncture, ozone therapy and iris diagnostics are not sufficiently known and used (over 80%). Conclusion: Fro centuries, the Bulgarian population has used herbal treatment as the main method of healing before they seek medical help. Homeopathy is the second most popular alternative treatment that is gaining more followers especially among the younger population. Leading motive for its implementation is the lack of harmful side effects. Acupuncture, ozone therapy and iris diagnostics are not known and not used often by people as they require more time, money and themselves and inaccessible to the majority of the population.