Original Article 18 African Journal of Diabetes Medicine A qualitative study of healthcare professionals’ perceived trust in and willingness to recommend alternative medicines for the management of diabetes mellitus M F Mahomoodally, C D Ruhee, and T F M Holmes M F Mahomoodally and C D Ruhee, Department of Health Sciences, University of Mauritius, Mauritius and T F M Holmes, School of Social and Political Sciences – Anthropology, University of Melbourne, Australia. Correspondence to: Dr. M Fawzi Mahomoodally. Email: f.mahomoodally@uom.ac.mu Introduction The prevalence of diabetes is increasing worldwide, and sub-Saharan Africa including Mauritius is no exception. Recently, 14.2 million people were estimated to be living with diabetes in Africa, projected to increase to 34.2 million by 2040. 1 According to the International Diabetes Federa- tion (IDF), over two-thirds of African people with diabetes remain undiagnosed, representing the highest global percentage of undiagnosed diabetes, placing patients at risk of developing harmful and costly complications. 1 The tropical island Mauritius has an extremely high prevalence of diabetes mortality by global standards, causing an alarming economic burden. Use of alternative therapies (AT) is anchored in local Mauritian culture in a community with moderate ongoing poverty, and persists as cornerstone therapy for the management of many dis- eases. Nonetheless, there is a dearth of literature describing healthcare professionals’ perceived trust in and willingness to recommend AT to support diabetic patients. In Mauritius, the majority of diabetics suffer from type 2 diabetes. With its rapid urbanisation and preva- lent Asian genetic background, combined with today’s sedentary lifestyle and obesity epidemic, Mauritius is at the forefront of this scourge. 2 Managing diabetes is a primary goal of patients, and many turn to AT to assist with symptom management. Studies show widespread use of AT among diabetic patients, gaining momentum in many countries. Indeed, bioactive components from natural products have become popular therapeutic agents to manage diabetes and related complications. 3 Health professionals are in an optimal position to inlu- ence AT use among patients. However, it is unclear to what extent the knowledge and attitudes of health pro- viders are useful to guide those with diabetes in relation to AT. As far as could be established, as yet no qualitative studies have been geared toward investigating the views of healthcare professionals with respect to their trust in and willingness to recommend AT to manage diabetes in Mauritius. This qualitative study was designed to gather descriptive data to promote understanding of the percep- tions of health professionals regarding recommending AT. It is anticipated that by improving knowledge and familiarity with relevant AT, especially herbal medicines, healthcare professionals may improve their relation- ships with patients, allowing them to capitalise on ATs’ therapeutic actions to manage diabetes symptoms and mitigate associated complications. Methods A qualitative research method was adopted to obtain descriptive data that build an understanding of the rea- sons healthcare professionals are willing to recommend or are uncomfortable recommending AT products. The questionnaire was designed to gather opinions of a par- ticular cohort, within a limited time scale, some of whom would be unreachable using interviews or focus groups Abstract This small qualitative study, conducted through the University of Mauritius, examined healthcare professionals’ engagement with and willingness to recommend alternative therapies (AT) for adjunctive management of diabetes, particularly type 2 diabetes. Fifteen (15) healthcare practitioners were selected to participate, completing a questionnaire regarding their opinions about the appropriateness of AT to support type 2 diabetes patients. The results highlight nutri- tionists’ and dieticians’ relative familiarity with AT, for personal use and with clinic patients. However, nurses and medical doctors were often sceptical, unwilling to discuss or recommend AT, and knew little about potential beneits. There appears an emerging need to improve training of Mauritian healthcare profession- als regarding AT, to improve their ability to provide up-to-date clinical information to the many diabetic patients in the community who often use AT. Vol 24 No 1 May 2016