Table 3 Conceptual definitions of sub-themes developed in the organism part of the model
Themes | Sub-Themes (Dotted boxes in the model) | Concept |
|---|---|---|
Positive attitudes | Dissatisfaction with conventional medicines —Uncaring attitudes of healthcare professionals —Side effects of conventional medicines | The uncaring attitude of healthcare professionals and the side effects of conventional medicines may make individuals feel dissatisfied with conventional medicines. This dissatisfaction might lead consumers to adopt positive attitudes toward CAM. The causing factors of this dissatisfaction are described below as sub-themes depicted in the model: —Uncaring attitudes of healthcare professionals: Certain influences,such asthe lack of empathy of healthcare providers [18, 61,62,63], might lead people to use/find information on CAM of other people using CAM for similar problems in the hope of relating to a sense of attachment and empathy of experts in healthcare. These people were conventionally found in the wider community and social networks, but with the emergence of social media, the social media platforms now have become the new “social networks”, which hold the same power of influencing and exercising empathy [64]. The empathy needed by consumers could be found being demonstrated by SMIs. This might cause a shift in positive attitudes and being more receptive to SMIs, which in turn might influence their behaviors to purchasing CAMs. —Side effects of conventional medicines: Perceived side-effects of conventional medicines are the other factors found in studies [18, 61,62,63, 65] related to dissatisfaction with conventional medicines, and this was found to be an influencing factor leading people to purchase CAMs. |
Satisfaction with CAMs —Perceived benefits of CAM —Perceived safety of CAM —To have trust in CAM practitioners —Beliefs in the underlying philosophy of CAM | The same was found faithful in the opposite cases, where mutual satisfaction with CAMs, was found to influence a positive impact towards purchasing these products. Perceived benefits of CAMs, [18, 62, 65,66,67,68,69] perceived safety of CAMs, [18, 62, 63, 65, 67, 68, 70,71,72] trust in CAM practitioners, [63, 71, 73] positive beliefs in the underlying philosophy of CAM [63, 71, 73] were the factors which led to satisfaction with CAMs. | |
Negative attitudes | Dissatisfaction with CAMs —Concerns about the benefits of CAMs —Concerns about the safety of CAMs | Concerns about the benefits of CAMs [18, 74] and concerns about the safety of CAMs [18] have found the reasons for dissatisfaction with CAMs that lead consumers to adopt negative attitudes towards CAM. |
Satisfaction with conventional medicines | Mutual satisfaction with conventional medicines [18, 75] was found to have a negative impact on purchasing these products. |