Why Patients Use Alternative Medicine

Results of a National Study

1. John A. Astin, PhD
   

[+] Author Affiliations

1. From the Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, Calif.
   

Abstract

Context.— Research both in the United States and abroad suggests that significant numbers of people are involved with various forms
of alternative medicine. However, the reasons for such use are, at present, poorly understood.

Objective.— To investigate possible predictors of alternative health care use.

Methods.— Three primary
hypotheses were tested. People seek out these alternatives because (1)
they are dissatisfied in some way with
conventional treatment; (2) they see alternative
treatments as offering more personal autonomy and control over health
care
decisions; and (3) the alternatives are seen as
more compatible with the patients' values, worldview, or beliefs
regarding
the nature and meaning of health and illness.
Additional predictor variables explored included demographics and health
status.

Design.— A written survey
examining use of alternative health care, health status, values, and
attitudes toward conventional medicine.
Multiple logistic regression analyses were used in
an effort to identify predictors of alternative health care use.

Setting and Participants.—
A total of 1035 individuals randomly selected from a panel who had
agreed to participate in mail surveys and who live throughout
the United States.

Main Outcome Measure.— Use of alternative medicine within the previous year.

Results.— The response
rate was 69%.The following variables emerged as predictors of
alternative health care use: more education (odds
ratio [OR], 1.2; 95% confidence interval [CI],
1.1-1.3); poorer health status (OR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.5); a holistic
orientation
to health (OR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.1-1.9); having had a
transformational experience that changed the person's worldview (OR,
1.8;
95% CI, 1.3-2.5); any of the following health
problems: anxiety (OR, 3.1; 95% CI, 1.6-6.0); back problems (OR, 2.3;
95% CI,
1.7-3.2); chronic pain (OR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.1-3.5);
urinary tract problems (OR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.3-3.5); and classification in
a cultural group identifiable by their commitment
to environmentalism, commitment to feminism, and interest in
spirituality
and personal growth psychology (OR, 2.0; 95% CI,
1.4-2.7). Dissatisfaction with conventional medicine did not predict use
of alternative medicine. Only 4.4% of those
surveyed reported relying primarily on alternative therapies.

Conclusion.— Along with
being more educated and reporting poorer health status, the majority of
alternative medicine users appear to be
doing so not so much as a result of being
dissatisfied with conventional medicine but largely because they find
these health
care alternatives to be more congruent with their
own values, beliefs, and philosophical orientations toward health and
life.

KEYWORDS:

• alternative medicine,
  
• attitude to health,
  
• health behavior,
  
• philosophy,
  
• spiritualism.
  

Related Subject
Chinese Herbal Formulas
Acupuncture and the Chakra Energy System
Essentials of Clinical Geriatrics, 5th Edition
Why Patients Use Alternative Medicine
Does Zamzam water have a special advantage that makes it different from water?
Olive Leaf to Treat Hypertension?

Thanks mary