A cross-sectional study on the attitude and knowledge assessment of ayurveda teachers, practitioners and students about practical application of Agadatantra

BACKGROUND: Agadatantra is one of the eight clinical branches into which Ayurveda medicine is traditionally divided. The term Agadatantra is used specifically for the branch of Ayurvedic medicine dealing with poisons, its description, and its antidotes. The other parts of the subject include Vyavahar Ayurveda and Vidhi Vaidyaka which are comprehensible with forensic medicine and medical jurisprudence of modern medical sciences. Being one of the important subjects during the undergraduate studies of Ayurveda (BAMS), it holds a substantial position in the entire syllabus. The present study was designed to appraise the attitude and knowledge of Ayurveda graduates on the practical application of the subject in day to day professional life. MATERIALS AND METHODS: It was a cross-sectional study conducted online among the students, teachers, and practitioners of Ayurveda. A pre-validated survey questionnaire was uploaded on GoogleDocs. The sharable link was made available online from 12(th)November 2018 to 31st Jan 2020 for recording the responses of the volunteers. Analysis of the responses was conducted thereafter. RESULTS: A total of 2128 participants expressed their opinion through this online survey which evaluated the views of scholars of Ayurveda regarding Agadatantra and contemporary allied subjects. Most of the respondents 65.27% were male and 30.83% holding BAMS as their highest qualification, 34.02% were postgraduate (MD) in Agadatantra; 55.03% (n = 1171) were academicians and 63.06% participants had an opinion that current UG& PG teaching is not sufficient to know about medico-legal responsibilities. CONCLUSION: The survey shows that there are few downsides in the existing teaching methodologies of Agadatantra. The existing syllabus should be revised entirely considering it as one of the clinical subjects. Concrete practical based teaching with ample clinical exposure is the need of the hour in the subject of Agadatantra to enhance its practical applicability.