Complementary medicine awareness, beliefs, and recent conventional CAM use among university students with and without self-reported previous physician-diagnosed IBS in Palestine

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder of gut-brain interaction, and many affected individuals seek complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) or related self-care practices. Data on CAM awareness, beliefs, information sources, and recent practice use among university students in Middle Eastern settings remain limited. This cross-sectional survey assessed these outcomes among 400 undergraduate students at An-Najah National University, Palestine, in relation to self-reported previous physician-diagnosed IBS and sociodemographic characteristics. Recent practices were classified as conventional CAM, culturally embedded/traditional practices, lifestyle/wellness practices, and physical therapy. Modified Poisson regression with robust variance was used to estimate adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for CAM awareness, belief in CAM effectiveness, and recent conventional CAM use. Overall, 20.8% of participants reported previous physician-diagnosed IBS, 49.0% reported awareness of CAM availability for IBS-related symptoms, and 73.5% believed that CAM may be effective. Recent conventional CAM use during the previous month was reported by 58.5% of participants; 39.8% reported at least one lifestyle/wellness practice, 5.3% reported prophetic medicine, and 28.0% reported physical therapy. Self-reported previous physician-diagnosed IBS was associated with a higher adjusted prevalence of CAM awareness (aPR 2.22, 95% CI 1.87–2.63), belief in CAM effectiveness (aPR 1.41, 95% CI 1.27–1.56), and recent conventional CAM use (aPR 1.56, 95% CI 1.36–1.78). Because IBS status was not clinically confirmed and recent practices were not necessarily IBS-directed, findings should be interpreted as CAM-related awareness, beliefs, and general health behavior rather than evidence of IBS-directed treatment or CAM effectiveness.