Public Awareness and Beliefs About Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Holistic Health in Jordan: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Background: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is widely used, often without medical supervision, yet there are limited studies on public beliefs about CAM in Jordan. This study aimed to assess awareness of CAM and beliefs about CAM and holistic health among adults in Jordan and identified factors associated with these beliefs. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey study was conducted between February and September 2025 using convenience sampling technique. Beliefs were measured with the Arabic version of the 11-item Holistic Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire (HCAMQ). Multivariable logistic regression compared participants with higher (≥median) and lower HCAMQ scores, and linear regression was conducted as a sensitivity analysis. Results: A total of 632 participants were involved in this study, of which 503 (79.6%) had heard of CAM, mainly through the media (50.7%). Among the 511 participants with complete HCAMQ data, the mean score was 52.74 ± 8.53, and 83.6% scored above the scale midpoint. Having heard of CAM was associated with higher scores (aOR = 2.16, 95% CI: 1.32–3.52), whereas diabetes mellitus (aOR = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.15–0.78) and current smoking (aOR = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.35–0.89) were associated with lower scores. Conclusions: Awareness of CAM among the general public in Jordan was high and beliefs were generally favourable in this predominantly young, female and educated sample. Public education on the evidence, benefits and risks of CAM is warranted.