Abstract
Objective : To find a collaboration strategy between western medicine and traditional Korean medicine (KM), this study aims to figure out the changes in the perception and attitude of medical doctors toward KM through systematic review. Method : Systematic literature searches were performed on six Korean databases. Studies were categorized according to the respondents and question items and analyzed by the context of questions, similarity of respondents and measurement scale. And we analyzed the changes of response regarding to medical doctors' and medical students' perspective and attitude to KM. Results : Eighteen survey studies including attitude of medical doctors and medical students toward KM were selected, which were conducted from 1993 to 2011. Although the attitude toward KM did not show any positive change, medical doctors have had more interest in acupuncture than herbal medicine and appreciated KM's treatment effect for musculoskeletal disease. In spite of little KM education experience, they had intentions for acupuncture education at least. Many medical doctors have listed the unscientific aspect as a major reason why they cannot trust KM. Medical doctors working for cooperative practice showed more positive attitude than other medical doctors and medical students had more positive attitude in general than medical doctors Conclusion : Though the growth of KM service and cooperative practice since 1990s, medical doctors' attitude toward KM seems to become more negative. To improve their attitude, making scientific evidences for KM is required as well as giving more education and treatment experience.
