Community Based Cross-sectional Study of the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Resources Limited Setting: A Case of Mettu Town, South Western of Ethiopia

AbstractObjectives The goal of the study was to evaluate the community of Mettu Town, South West Ethiopia's knowledge, attitudes, and use of complementary and alternative medicine. Methods A community-based descriptive cross-sectional study including 285 individuals in Mettu town 03 kebele was conducted. To choose the households, a standardized random sampling method was utilized and house to house interviews were used to gather the data. Results 143 people (48.9%) of the participants were female and 94.9% of the respondents used complementary and alternative medicine, and 89% were aware of it. Medical herbalism was the most often used system (50.6%), and a higher percentage of study participants thought alternative medicine was less expensive than modern medicine (30.8%) and more accessible (42.5%). Conclusion The majority of the Mettu town Community practiced Complementary and Alternative Medicine theraphy and the study participants in Mettu town have good knowledge but poor attitude regarding utilization of CAM.