Attitudes and beliefs towards the use of complementary and alternative medicine in cancer patients

Introduction: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is significantly influenced by patient attitudes and beliefs. However, in Morocco, there is a lack of research specifically focusing on examining these attitudes and beliefs, which might differ in the local context. This study's main objective was to describe the attitudes and beliefs of cancer patients towards CAM and to identify the factors that influence these attitudes and beliefs within the Moroccan context.Methods: Between February and July 2021, a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional survey was conducted at the Beni Mellal regional oncology center in Morocco. The survey employed the validated tool known as the "Attitudes and Beliefs about Complementary and Alternative Medicine (ABCAM)" questionnaire. A total of 530 cancer patients participated in the survey, and their responses were analyzed using SPSS software. The analysis aimed to identify associations between independent variables and patients' attitudes and beliefs towards CAM.Results: In our study, patients expressed a positive belief in the potential benefits but also perceived barriers associated with using CAM. The expected benefits of CAM were related to gender, problems accessing care, the presence of disease symptoms (P< 0.05), and comorbidities (P< 0.01). The perceived barriers were associated with the level of education, problems accessing care (P< 0.01), patients' economic status, treatment method (P = 0.000), health status (P < 0.05), and disease duration (P< 0.05). Subjective norms were associated with sex, place of residence, duration of cancer (P < 0.01), age, and problems accessing care (P < 0.05).Conclusion: Cancer patients exhibited high scores in both expected benefits and perceived barriers concerning CAM. These attitudes were significantly correlated to the socioeconomic and clinical characteristics of the pa-tients, particularly their access to conventional medical care.