Complementary and alternative medicine use for self-care of minor wounds and injuries among a convenience sample of palestinian adults

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is used for self-care of minor wounds and injuries, but evidence on these practices in Palestine is limited. This cross-sectional electronic survey assessed CAM use and associated factors among 441 Palestinian adults recruited through convenience sampling between February and May 2026; the sample was predominantly young, female, and university-educated. CAM use was defined as self-reported use of any natural, traditional, or non-conventional remedy for a minor wound during the previous year. Overall, 235 participants (53.3%) reported CAM use. Among users answering the consultation item, 71.6% reported no consultation with a specialist, 42.3% reported antibiotic co-use (prescription status, route, and clinical indication were not assessed), 22.2% self-reported complications, and 31.1% reported needing a later physician visit. In multivariable analysis, CAM use was associated with age ≥ 46 years (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 9.22, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.36–62.45; P = 0.023), government employment versus student status (aOR 3.62, 95% CI 1.20–10.89; P = 0.022), awareness of traditional or natural wound remedies (aOR 2.45, 95% CI 1.21–4.96; P = 0.013), and perceiving CAM as safe for minor wounds (aOR 2.82, 95% CI 1.53–5.23; P < 0.001); the wide confidence interval for the age ≥ 46 years association indicates imprecision. These findings demonstrate frequent CAM use for minor wound self-care in this convenience sample, but the electronic convenience sampling and demographic composition limit generalizability to the broader Palestinian adult population, and the observed 53.3% prevalence should not be interpreted as representative of Palestinian adults nationally.