Abstract:
This study is designed to assess AIDS knowledge among Homeopathy educators and
physicians in India, which has not been evaluated previously. India now has the largest
number of HIV infected persons worldwide, with an estimated cumulative 5.1 million
infections. Homeopathy is the dominant system among the nationally-recognized
alternative or complementary systems of medicine, which collectively provide health
care to around 600 million people in India. Homeopathy, with its holistic and patientcentered
approach, has a wide reach to people at risk of contracting human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Participants were 68 homeopathy physicians (34 educators
and 34 practitioners) who completed a CDC questionnaire measuring HIV/AIDS Knowledge
regarding AIDS. This study reports the current level of knowledge of, and attitudes
about, HIV/AIDS among homeopathy educators and practitioners. These findings will
assist in the development of an education module to equip homeopathic health care
personnel to impart accurate AIDS information and prevention counseling to their patients
in an efficient manner.
