OBJECTIVETo assess the knowledge, attitude, perception and practice of Ayurveda, yoga, Unani, Siddha, homeopathy and naturopathy (AYUSH) among allopathic doctors and interns and determine their opinion regarding integration of AYUSH education within the allopathic curriculum.

METHODSThis prospective, cross sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching Hospital, New Delhi, India, from March 2016 to March 2017. A survey of 500 allopathic doctors and 150 interns was performed using a structured questionnaire.

RESULTSA majority of doctors (95.2%) were aware of the term AYUSH and had knowledge of yoga (70.6%), homeopathy (55.6%), Ayurveda (50.3%), Siddha (47.8%), naturopathy (32.9%) and Unani (28.9%). Most of the participants (63.0%) felt that therapies under AYUSH are effective. A majority (84.0%) of the doctors were of the view that more research is required in the field of AYUSH. While homeopathy (44.0%) was the most common system used by doctors for themselves, yoga was the therapy most commonly (60.0%) recommended to patients. Nearly half of the doctors (46.7%) recommended AYUSH to their patients, mainly for chronic illness (74.0%). A majority (77.5%) of the respondents agreed that students of allopathic medicine should be familiarized with AYUSH. The modes of incorporation of AYUSH into the medical curriculum most commonly suggested by respondents were optional courses (54.5%) and introductory lectures (42.3%).

CONCLUSIONDoctors and interns of allopathic medicine are aware of AYUSH systems. They use it for themselves and recommend it to patients. They believe that familiarization of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery students with AYUSH therapies and their integration with allopathic medicine may help in improving patient care.