People's Choice: Complementary and Alternative Medicine Modalities

Abstract

The diversity within CAM use in the community, and the beliefs, concerns, and characteristics of the users of individual CAM modalities was explored via a survey mailed to a randomly selected sample of 1,308 people in different metropolitan and rural localities in Victoria, Australia. The response rate was 40% ( n = 459). The respondents' overall current CAM use was 52% and lifetime use was 85%. Chiropractic (50%), massage therapy, (50%), and vitamin or herbal supplements (39%) were the most frequently used modalities. A set of beliefs labeled holistic health care beliefs strongly predicted the use of Natural Remedy and Wellness modalities. Users of these modalities were more likely to be female, under the age of 60, and tertiary educated. Rurality characteristics did not predict rural CAM usage and were equally present in metropolitan and rural respondents. The respondents' decisions concerning CAM involved choosing a modality that fit their self-assessed health care needs.

Prevalence of Complementary Alternative Medicine Use among Patients With Type II Diabetes in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

“…A high proportion of CAM users believe in the effectiveness of CAM and this is because they feel that CAM use is more holistic for health (Robinson et al 2007). Although, the medical efficacy of CAM in controlling diabetes is mostly unproven (Tackett & Jones 2009), patients still believe that CAM could still contribute to the management of their diabetes.…”

“…CAM practices may be unique to the locality, although some CAM products or practices are more known and recognized internationally, like acupuncture or the Ayurveda treatment. A survey in Australia showed that the prevalence of lifetime use of CAM was 85% (while the current consumption was 52%) and interest in CAM was evenly divided between urban and rural areas (Robinson et al 2007). In Malaysia, Hasan et al (2009) showed that the prevalence of the prevalence of CAM use increased tremendously among individuals, before and after being diagnosed with type II diabetes mellitus (Chang et al 2007).…”

When one door closes, another door opens: Physician availability and motivations to consult complementary and alternative medicine providers

“…13 The use of alternative forms of health-care, such as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), has also increased in recent years. [14][15][16] CAM includes a diverse group of healing therapies (e.g., chiropractic, homeopathy, massage therapy, and acupuncture) not currently considered an integral part of conventional medical practice. 17 An often cited reason for the increasing interest and use of CAM is that people are becoming more consumer-minded in their health-care decisions, 18 and that dissatisfaction with aspects of conventional care is one factor that has fueled this consumerist approach.…”

Beyond a Generic Complementary and Alternative Medicine: The Holistic Health Care- Conventional Medicine Continuum

“…Some modalities, such as chiropractic (50%), massage therapy (50%), and vitamin or herbal supplements (39%), were clearly more acceptable and more widely used than others. However, only three modalities, hypnotherapy, shiatsu, and chelation therapy, were used by less than 10% of respondents (Robinson et al, 2007b; Figure 1). …”

“…In the interests of comparability and ease of analysis, we have grouped the CAM modalities into four categories; natural remedy, wellness, accepted, and established. We then situated them on a series of continua based on our findings of the differences in the health care beliefs and characteristics of users of individual CAM modalities (Robinson, Chesters, & Cooper, 2007b).…”