Evaluation of Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviors of Older Adults Regarding the Use of Traditional Complementary Treatment for Pain

Objective: This descriptive study was conducted to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of older adults experiencing pain for any reason regarding traditional complementary treatment. Methods: The study was collected simultaneously from a provincial center and districts in Türkiye between January 10 and March 15, 2024 by the Aging Studies Implementation and Research Center of a state university. 1286 older adults voluntarily participated in the study. Data were collected with a 30-question questionnaire prepared by the researchers and data were computer analysed. Results: 75.27% of the older adults who participated in the study stated that they used traditional complementary treatment to relieve their pain, 81.50% stated that the method they used relieved their pain, and 36.37% stated that they used traditional complementary treatment on recommendation. When the use of traditional complementary treatment for pain in older adults was analyzed in terms of sociodemographic variables, a statistically significant difference was found in the group who used and did not use traditional complementary treatment in terms of all sociodemographic variables except for the family type variable (p=0.07) (p≤0.05). When the pain characteristics were compared in the group using and not using traditional complementary treatment in older adults, there was no significant difference between the two groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: In conclusion, it was determined that older adults experiencing pain primarily consulted modern medicine and had a positive attitude towards traditional complementary treatment.