Physicians’ knowledge and communication about traditional, complementary and alternative medicine use among Latino patients at Kaiser Permanente, Oakland CA

Understanding Latinos’ health beliefs and traditional, complementary and alternative medicine (TCAM) practices, and improving cross-cultural communication skills may improve quality of care and reduce health disparities. Although studies have examined the health beliefs and practices of Latino patients, few have examined the knowledge, attitudes, and communication skills of health care providers in regards to Latino TCAM use. This paper discusses the results from 10 physician questionnaires, which form part of a larger mixed-methods study of patients and physicians at a bilingual clinic at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California. Physicians had a range of knowledge regarding health beliefs and practices common among Latinos, but all reported an open and non-judgmental attitude during patient interactions and were permissive of TCAM therapies they considered safe. Physicians believed that TCAM use decreased with acculturation and varied by ethnicity, education and income. Physicians were more concerned with the misuse of prescription drugs among Latino patients than the potential for herbal toxicity or herb-drug interactions. The results indicate a need to include questions about pharmaceuticals in future research on Latino health practices, and also point to the need for research on how education, income and acculturation affect health beliefs and TCAM practices within different Latino subgroups