Specialists: Corona and increasing awareness and confidence in the medical sector are the main reasons
24.6% drop in demand for alternative medicine
The total number of visitors to alternative medicine clinics reached 115 thousand patients, compared to 152 thousand and 461 patients in 2019. From the source
Dr. Seif Darwish: "The most important reasons for the decline of those who seek alternative treatments are due to selling hope and illusion and violating scientific facts."
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Alternative medicine clinics in Dubai witnessed a decrease in the number of visitors during the last period, according to recent statistics of the Dubai Health Authority, while doctors attributed this phenomenon to the growing awareness of a large group of people coming to these treatments, in addition to the impact of the Corona pandemic on these centers.
Recent statistics issued by the authority revealed that the total number of patients at alternative medicine clinics amounted to 115 thousand patients, compared to 152 thousand and 461 in 2019, with a change rate of 24.6% annually, which indicates a decrease in the demand for this type of treatment in the Emirate of Dubai, and the conditions of the Corona pandemic are one of the reasons This phenomenon, and the percentage of males reached 47.4% and females 54.5%, as well as the percentage of citizens who requested these alternative treatments, compared to 86.5% of residents.
Looking at the treatments available to the patients of alternative medicine clinics, 32 types of treatment are available, in addition to other treatments, the most frequent of which are musculoskeletal and nervous system treatments, and then bio-energy therapy.
The specialist in family and community medicine at Fakeeh University Hospital, Dr. Adel Sajwani, said that the decline in the number of visitors to alternative medicine clinics is primarily due to the increased awareness among members of society, as doctors do not advise patients to resort permanently to this type of treatment, the benefit of which has not been scientifically proven.
And he continued, "A drug that is healthy and safe does not necessarily mean that it is beneficial to the patient, as people usually go to it for misleading medical claims, which they have been exposed to through social media, such as the radical treatment of chronic diseases and other incorrect allegations."
Sajwani stressed the need to rely primarily on modern medicine, which is based on documented scientific studies and research, and clinical trials have proven their success and safety.
In turn, the community medicine specialist, the official spokesman for the Emirates Public Health Association, Dr. Saif Darwish, said that the most prominent reasons for the decline of those coming to this type of treatment is due to the selling of hope and illusion to patients with the possibility of treatment, in violation of the recognized scientific facts.
He explained that the temporary relief of many patients after using one of the alternative medicine methods helped increase the demand for it and promote it, despite the presence of large differences between the feeling of comfort and recovery, stressing that the psychological factor plays a major role in the demand for these clinics and centers, as well as the love of People use everything that is close to nature, whether it is a product or a treatment method.
He warned against falling victims of scammers who use the name of alternative medicine to lure their clients from patients seeking healing, through lies and misinformation through social media, noting that the supervisory role of health services played a major role in limiting this phenomenon.
The consultant of chest diseases at the Emirates Medical Association, Dr. Bassam Mahboub, attributed the decline in the demand for these clinics to the growing health awareness in the country, as a result of the efforts made by health authorities, and the Corona pandemic had a major role in the reluctance of people from it for fear of exposure to infection or wrong treatment.
He added: "Recent years have witnessed a strengthening of the confidence of community members in scientific research, the search for treatment methods and their scientific reference, and their reliable sources, whether from within the country or international health authorities."
He advised patients to resort mainly to modern medicine, in order to avoid any health complications they might encounter due to treatment by methods that do not belong to any scientific basis.
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