Two-Thirds of Survey Respondents in Southern Sweden Used Complementary or Alternative Medicine in 2015

Abstract

Background: Research has long suggested that a large and possibly growing number of people use complementary or alternative medicine (CAM). However, in many countries, such as Sweden, national and regional research on CAM use is still very limited. Existing prevalence studies are few and characterized by low comparability. This study aims to contribute towards addressing this knowledge gap. Methods: A web-based survey measured the use of and attitude towards CAM and conventional medicine in the southernmost Swedish province of Scania, while taking part in the development of a measurement tool for the standardized study of CAM use within the European Union (EU; I-CAM-Q). Results: 71% of the respondents (n = 1,534) reported having used some form of CAM in the past year. CAM consumption here includes visits to CAM providers, use of natural remedies, and use of self-help methods. Reported use was more common among women, younger age groups, and people with tertiary education. 69% of the respondents stated that collaboration between conventional medicine and complementary medicine should increase. The survey's response rate was 31%. Conclusions: The study confirms that CAM forms a considerable part of the health care offered to and used by the population. In the face of the existing lack of national and regional data on CAM usage, it affirms the importance of furthered investigation of CAM consumption, policy, practice, regulation, and education.

Conventional and Complementary Therapy Use among Mexican Farmworkers in North Carolina: Applying the I-CAM-Q

“…It has been adapted for use by investigators in several countries; for example, in France, 43 Sweden, 44 Korea, 45 and Argentina. 46 The I-CAM-Q addresses the use of conventional health care providers, alternative health care providers, and traditional healers, the use of supplements (herbs, vitamins, OTC medicine, home remedies), and the use of self-care practices.…”

Use of complementary and alternative medicine in Norway: a cross-sectional survey with a modified Norwegian version of the international questionnaire to measure use of complementary and alternative medicine (I-CAM-QN)

“…The questionnaire was presented in a publication in 2009, with instructions for translation and cultural adaptation [14]. From 2012 to present, the questionnaire has been translated and adapted to many different countries and languages [15][16][17][18][19][20]. The I-CAM-Q instrument has been applied worldwide such as in France [15], Germany [20], Iran [16], Saudi Arabia [21], US [22,23], Argentina [24], Japan [25,26], Taiwan [17], Korea [18], Cambodia [27] and Australia [28].…”

“…CAM services were utilized by 27% of the patients, 21% reported use of CAM products, and 28% had used self-help practices [30]. In 2017, Wemrell et al [19] applied the I-CAM-Q instrument when investigating the utilization of CAM in Sweden. The researchers found that 71% of the respondents had used CAM in the past year.…”

An assessment of the use of complementary and alternative medicine by Korean people using an adapted version of the standardized international questionnaire (I-CAM-QK): a cross-sectional study of an internet survey

“…Therefore, in an international group of CAM researchers, a standardized questionnaire, the International Questionnaire to measure use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (I-CAM-Q), was developed to reduce questionnaire-related bias and to conduct an international comparison of the utilization of CAM [ 19 ]. The use of the I-CAM-Q was originally limited; then, several surveys on the utilization of CAM were conducted using this questionnaire in several countries [ 20 – 30 ]. As the type and circumstances of CAM may vary greatly according to differences in the cultural backgrounds of each country, an adapted version of the I-CAM-Q may be developed before implementation in a survey [ 23 , 27 ].…”