Parental Attitude and Awareness of the Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine for the Management of Respiratory Tract Infections in Children: A Cross-Sectional Study from Aseer Region, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Respiratory tract infections are considered the major cause of pediatric hospitalization requiring direct supervision by a clinician. The use of antibiotics that are commonly used for treatment is sometimes associated with the development of antibiotic resistance and less than desirable treatment outcome. Despite limited clinical evidence, complementary and alternative medicine is widely used as an alternative to antibiotics worldwide for treatment of respiratory tract infections in children. Therefore, we decided to explore the parental attitude and awareness regarding the use of the complementary and alternative medicine for the management or prevention of respiratory tract infections in children in Aseer region, Saudi Arabia. Over a 4-month period during influenza season, 1,192 parents were administered two sets of seven questionnaires dealing with attitude and awareness about the complementary and alternative medicine use. The results show that parents who felt that respiratory tract infections in children do need antibiotics supported the use of the complementary and alternative medicine modalities. More than half of the participants agreed that the complementary and alternative medicine would produce fewer side effects on their children's immunity than antibiotics and produce less bacterial resistance. In conclusion, the complementary and alternative medicine use for the treatment of respiratory tract infections in children should be based only on reliable and evidence-based advice.