Comparison of precourse and postcourse attitudes and assessment of perceived skills acquired (univariate analysis)
| Theme, median (min, max) | IM sceptical | P value | IM supporting | P value | Both | P value |
| Approach | ||||||
| Can complementary medicine improve patients’ medical condition? | 6 (4, 7) 6 (5, 7) | 0.257 | 6 (3, 7) 7 (5, 7) | 0.317 | 6 (3, 7) 6 (5, 7) | 0.131 |
| Can complementary medicine result in harmful effects on patients? | 4 (2, 6) 5 (2,6) | 0.48 | 2 (1, 3) 3 (2, 7) | 0.066 | 3 (1, 6) 4 (2, 7) | 0.048 |
| Extent of published IM-related RCTs | 3 (2, 5) 4 (1, 6) | 0.558 | 3 (2, 3) 4 (3, 6) | 0.026 | 3 (2, 5) 4 (1, 6) | 0.031 |
| Does IM clinical outcome have a specific effect? | 4 (3, 6) 5 (4, 6) | 0.052 | 5 (3, 6) 5 (4, 7) | 0.102 | 4 (3, 6) 5 (4, 7) | 0.012 |
| Does IM clinical outcome have a non-specific (placebo) effect? | 4 (3, 5) 3 (3, 5) | 0.408 | 4 (2, 5) 3 (2, 5) | 0.414 | 4 (2, 5) 3 (2, 5) | 0.248 |
| Need for further research | 5 (3, 6) 5 (3, 6) | 0.492 | 5 (2, 6) 4 (3, 7) | 0.492 | 5 (2, 6) 4.5 (3, 7) | 0.38 |
| IM safety in cases where no adverse effects were reported in RCT | 4 (3, 6) 6 (3, 7) | 0.142 | 5 (3, 6) 5 (2, 6) | 0.785 | 5 (3, 6) 5.5 (2, 7) | 0.184 |
| Skills | ||||||
| History-taking (anamnesis) on IM use | 2 (1, 5) 5 (1, 7) | 0.063 | 3 (1, 5) 5 (4, 6) | 0.026 | 2.5 (1, 5) 5 (1, 7) | 0.006 |
| Dealing with a patient who has an ‘alternative’ concept of care | 3 (1, 6) 5 (1, 6) | 0.121 | 3 (1, 6) 5 (3, 7) | 0.105 | 3 (1, 6) 5 (1, 7) | 0.024 |
| Referring a patient in an informed manner to IM treatments | 1 (1, 5) 5 (3, 7) | 0.011 | 1 (1, 6) 5 (4, 6) | 0.026 | 1 (1, 6) 5 (3, 7) | 0.001 |
| Codefining with the patient ‘realistic’ versus ‘non-realistic’ treatment goals | 3 (1, 6) 6 (3, 7) | 0.02 | 2 (1, 6) 5 (3, 6) | 0.04 | 2 (1, 6) 5 (3, 7) | 0.002 |
| Evaluating the effectiveness of the IM treatment | 2 (1, 5) 5 (4, 6) | 0.012 | 3 (1, 4) 6 (3, 6) | 0.016 | 2.5 (1, 5) 5 (3, 6) | 0.001 |
| Evaluating the safety and/or risks of the IM treatment | 2 (1, 4) 6 (3, 6) | 0.011 | 3 (1, 5) 6 (4, 7) | 0.018 | 2.5 (1, 5) 6 (3, 7) | 0.001 |
| Designing a treatment plan in IM | 1 (1, 4) 3 (1, 5) | 0.042 | 1 (1, 5) 4 (2, 5) | 0.040 | 1 (1, 5) 3.5 (1, 5) | 0.005 |
| Working in a multidisciplinary team with non-MD IM practitioners | 2 (1, 5) 6 (3, 7) | 0.016 | 2 (1, 5) 5 (5, 7) | 0.027 | 2 (1, 5) 5 (3, 7) | 0.001 |
| Follow-up assessment of the safety and effectiveness and of the IM treatments | 2 (1, 5) 5 (2, 6) | 0.031 | 3 (1, 5) 5 (4, 6) | 0.046 | 2 (1, 5) 5 (2, 6) | 0.003 |
IM, integrative medicine; RCT, randomised controlled trial.