Prevalence and Correlates of the Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Adults Living in a Rural Area

Inequalities in access to integrative and complementary health practices in Brazil: National Health Survey, 2019

Aim

Integrative and complementary practices (PICs) can be important health care strategies, mainly because they consider the integrality of the person. The objective of this article was to verify the inequality in the access to PICs of the Brazilian population based on data from the National Health Survey (PNS).

Subject and methods

This is a population-based cross-sectional study, with data from the 2019 PNS. The use of PICs in the past 12 months was investigated. Adjusted analysis was performed using Poisson regression and the Slope Index of Inequality (SII) and the Concentration Index (CIX) were used to assess absolute and relative inequality.

Results

The prevalence of PIC use in Brazil was 5.4% (95%CI 5.3; 5.5). Individuals from the richest quintile, with higher education and with health insurance were more likely to use PICs in general, except for medicinal plants/herbal medicine. When observing the magnitude of inequalities, this was more positively accentuated in those with higher education and who had a private health plan.

Conclusion

The results reveal social inequalities in the access to integrative practices, where the most elitist are more accessed by people with better socioeconomic conditions.

Correlates of Manual Therapy and Acupuncture Use Among Rural Patients Seeking Conventional Pain Management: A Cross-sectional Study

OBJECTIVE

In this cross-sectional study, we examined correlates of manual therapy (spinal manipulation, massage therapy) and/or acupuncture use in a population engaging in conventional pain care in West Virginia.

METHODS

Participants were patients (aged 18+ years) from 4 Appalachian pain and rheumatology clinics. Of those eligible (N = 343), 88% completed an anonymous survey including questions regarding health history, pain distress (Short Form Global Pain Scale), prescription medications, and current use of complementary health approaches for pain management. We used age-adjusted logistic regression to assess the relation of sociodemographic, lifestyle, and health-related factors to use of manual therapies and/or acupuncture for pain (complete-case N = 253).

RESULTS

The majority of participants were white (92%), female (56%), and middle aged (mean age, 54.8 ± 13.4 years). Nearly all reported current chronic pain (94%), and 56% reported ≥5 comorbidities (mean, 5.6 ± 3.1). Manual therapy and/or acupuncture was used by 26% of participants for pain management (n = 66). Current or prior opioid use was reported by 37% of those using manual therapies. Manual therapy and/or acupuncture use was significantly elevated in those using other complementary health approaches (adjusted odds ratio, 3.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.5-5.8). Overall Short Form Global Pain Scale scores were not significantly associated with use of manual therapies and/or acupuncture after adjustment (adjusted odds ratio per 1-point increase, 1.01; 95% confidence interval, 1.00-1.03).

CONCLUSION

We found no evidence for an association of pain-related distress and use of manual therapies and/or acupuncture, but identified a strong association with use of dietary supplements and mind-body therapies. Larger studies are needed to further examine these connections in the context of clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness in rural adults given their high pain burden and unique challenges in access to care.

Complementary Therapies Used by Indonesians With Myocardial Infarction

This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted to identify types, frequency, methods, duration, and purpose of complementary therapies used by Indonesians with myocardial infarction. The majority of the respondents used biologically based therapies, with the most common subtype being herbs. The purpose of using biologically based therapies was for health promotion.

The relationship between health sciences students' perceptions of health news and their attitudes to using complementary and alternative medicine

PURPOSE

Written-visual and social media play a significant role in accessing knowledge about health issues. Media coverage of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) can affect the beliefs, attitudes, behaviors and decisions to use of CAM the individuals. The research was planned as a descriptive, cross-sectional study was to evaluate the relationship between the health sciences students' perceptions of health news and their attitude towards using CAM.

METHOD

The sample included 736 students studying in a Department of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, and Nutrition and Dietetics program in a Faculty of Health Sciences. A Students' Description Form, The Perception of Health News Scale (PHNS), and The Attitude towards Using Complementary Treatments Scale (ACTS) were used to collect the data in this study.

RESULTS

The students' mean PHNS scores were found to be 81.05 ± 13.42, and their mean ACTS scores were 30.07 ± 6.56. There was a statistically significant difference between HS students' mean PHMS scores and usage of CAM and following of health news on the written-visual media (p < 0.05). There was a statistically significant difference between HS students' mean ACTS scores and their department of study, year of study, usage of CAM, education on CAM, usage of social media, following of health news on the written-visual media and following health news on social media (p < 0.05). A weak positive correlation was found between the students' PHNS scores and their ACTS scores (r = 0.189, p = 0.000).

CONCLUSION

In the conclusion of our research, it was found that HS students' perception of health news may affect their attitudes towards using CAM.

Use of complementary and alternative medicine in patients with chronic viral hepatitis in Turkey

INTRODUCTION

The global use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is growing. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of CAM use in patients in Turkey with CVH, the types of therapy, and patients' sociodemographic characteristics.

METHODS

The study was designed as a questionnaire-based, cross-sectional analysis. An infectious diseases outpatient follow-up questionnaire was administered to patients at face-to-face interviews. The data obtained were analyzed using SPSS 17 software.

RESULTS

This study included 588 patients, of whom 27% used CAM. No differences in sociodemographic characteristics were determined between patients using CAM and those not using it. Herbal methods were used by 63.6% of patients and cupping techniques by 25.4%. Education level was significantly correlated with herbal methods (p = 0.043). CAM use also increased in line with disease duration (p < 0.05). No difference in CAM use was determined between CHB patients using oral antiviral therapy and those not using it (p = 0.162).

CONCLUSION

CAM use, particularly herbal products, is prevalent among Turkish adults with CVH. In case of use of herbal products in chronic viral hepatitis patients, toxicity and liver failure may develop as a result of herbal product-drug interactions. Physicians in the field of hepatology should, therefore, be aware of potential toxicity of CAM, especially in patients with chronic hepatitis liver diseases.