Date of Conferral

11-21-2025

Date of Award

November 2025

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Nursing

Advisor

Janice Long

Abstract

Nurses have demonstrated positive attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine (CAM); however, additional education is limited in nursing programs to prepare them to discuss and educate patients about these practices. Nursing faculty play a significant role in educating, mentoring, and influencing students’ knowledge levels and attitudes toward CAM. The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional study, guided by the CAM healthcare model, was to examine relationships among nursing faculty demographics, CAM knowledge, attitudes, and curriculum integration. The Knowledge, Attitudes, and Use of CAM survey was administered to 111 nursing faculty across multiple programs. Data were analyzed using multiple linear regression to determine whether age, degree level, and years of teaching predicted knowledge or attitude, and logistic regression was used to examine whether knowledge and attitude predicted CAM integration. None of the regression models showed statistically significant relationships among the variables. Findings suggest that demographic factors, CAM knowledge, and attitudes may not directly influence CAM integration. Future research should include larger, more diverse, and stratified samples of nursing faculty to improve generalizability. Implications for positive social change include identifying other factors, such as institutional support and faculty preparedness, which may affect CAM integration and guide nursing education leaders in strengthening faculty readiness and promoting evidence-based, holistic, patient-centered care.

Included in

Nursing Commons

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