Assessing the Preference and Level of Knowledge of Traditional and Modern Medical Health Practices Among the Students of Saint Mary’s University

The health services in the Philippines have made significant progress. However, the country's medical system faces emerging challenges in the modern era, such as the critical shortage of skilled management professionals. This study generally aims to assess the preference and level of knowledge regarding traditional and modern medical health practices among the students of Saint Mary’s University. Moreover, this study employed a descriptive and comparative design to assess their preference and level of knowledge, while thematic analysis was used for the open-ended question. The data gathered for the preference of the respondents between traditional and modern health practices revealed that Senior High School students under Science, Technology, and Engineering Mathematics, and Nursing students of the School of Health and Natural Sciences both prefer the modern over the traditional when based on socio-demographic profile and disease complaints. For the level of knowledge, it was found that students are more knowledgeable of traditional than modern, when grouped according to their profile variables, with significant differences in sex and type of residency. Overall, although respondents show a stronger preference for modern health practices, they have greater knowledge of traditional health practices, with females and those living in rural areas being more exposed to this method. Further, future researchers should include additional demographic profile variables and consider elder respondents, such as parents.