Abstract:
Background: There is a growing concern about the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and their risk factors globally. Objectives: This study assesses the impact of the integration of Ayush (homoeopathy along with yoga) in the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases, and Stroke at the level of patients and conventional physicians. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on the participants already enrolled for the treatment of NCDs at 22 Ayush-Lifestyle Disorders clinics in four districts across India. Participants of any gender, aged 30 years or older, were included. A structured questionnaire covering knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) regarding NCDs was filled out by the participants. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was applied to measure the relationship between KAP scores. Results: 1923 participants took part in the study. 68.7% (n = 1322) agreed with the benefits of homoeopathic medicine to a large extent, 29.7% (n = 917) agreed to some extent, and 1.5% (n = 29) did not agree about the merits of homoeopathy. 61.8% (n = 1189) participants noticed considerable changes in their health condition after taking homoeopathy and yoga, while 36.2% (n = 696) felt the change in health to some extent, and the remaining 1.1% (n = 22) did not notice any change. The correlation revealed significant positive linear correlations between knowledge-attitude (r = 0.49, P < 0.001), knowledge-practice (r = 0.49, P < 0.001) and attitude-practice (r = 0.52, P < 0.001). Conclusion: The findings indicate a successful integrated approach that can be adopted in providing healthcare to patients suffering from NCDs.
