Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices about Ayurvedic Immunomodulators among Elderly Diabetic Population during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-sectional Pilot Study

Background: With a high incidence and prevalence of Diabetes and an increase in population of elderly, reports project the number of diagnosed diabetes cases among people 65 years and older will grow more than 4-fold from 2005 to 2050. Diabetes has been identified as a potential risk factor requiring hospitalisation for SARS-CoV-2, Due to mechanisms like chronic inflammation, impaired immune response, etc. Madhumeha (Diabetes) is a condition with depletion of Ojus. Thus, Rasayana Chikitsa is an imperative requirement to manage the disease and to prevent the complications. Increased awareness amongst large population groups should be a major determinant for the prevention of diabetes and its complications. Therefore, Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice were chosen to study as the principal markers of awareness among patients. Materials and Methods: An cross sectional pilot study was planned to assess the Knowledge, Attitude and Practices related to Rasayana Chikitsa among Elderly Diabetic subjects during the COVID 19 Pandemic. Non-probable convenient sampling was done to enroll 50 subjects, by using an interviewer-based questionnaire. Results: Gender, Educational status and socioeconomic status were strong positive indicators of Knowledge and practice. Females had better Knowledge (16.10 vs 10.9), Attitude (6.9 vs 6) and Practice (5.4 vs 3.2) scores compared to males. One in two respondents knew about Ayurvedic immunomodulators (50%) and 64% of them came to know it during the pandemic, but nearly half (46% responded "Don't know") did not have a definite positive attitude that Ayurvedic immunomodulators would control the infection. Conclusion: Even though there is good knowledge about the disease and moderate knowledge about the Rasayana Chikitsa, there is a considerable gap when it comes to practice. Hence, there is an urgent need for coordinated educational campaigns with a prioritized focus on poorer, rural and less educated groups to combat negative attitude and poor practices about uses of Ayurvedic immunomodulators.