subject: Utilization And Trend Of Alternative Medicine. [print this page] Even though it may differ by sources cited, the definition of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is any practice that does not fall in the area of scientificmedicine.It may be based on historical or cultural traditions, rather than on scientific evidence. CAM is either performed by a professional or self-practiced. Studies by the World Health Organization suggested that chiropractic practice, acupuncture, homeopathy, herbal medicine and massage were among the most used practices of complementary and alternative medicine. If prayer is accounted as a CAM approach, it would definitely be on the list of the most used complementary practices. Overall, the use of almost every complementary practice is in an increasing trend over the past few decades. In specific, such an increase is applied to herbal medicine, acupuncture, diet supplements, social support groups, folk medicine, meditation, chiropractic practice, etc.
The reported wide range of utilization of alternative medicine by the general public may be because of the lack of consensus in the definition of CAM. In general, the percentage of the population who uses CAM practices is high, no matter how CAM is defined. The current prevalence of CAM utilization is about 32% in the Western world. Because investigations on the topic are usually different in their definition of CAM, the prevalence only provides a crude estimate. The utilization of CAM is however found to be in a steady increasing trend over the last 50 years. In 1970, about 14% of the population in Germany used certain form of CAM. The amount had jumped to 28% in 1997, and further ascended to 34% in 2002. The average prevalence of CAM usage is 49% in Switzerland and 68% in the US. Additionally, a systematic review revealed that acupuncture and homeopathy are used more often in European countries than in the United States and Canada.
Research on complementary and alternative medicine suggested that the most predictive factors for CAM use include gender, age, and educational level. Most of the literatures showed a substantially greater utilization of CAM approaches among women. CAM users tend to be mid-aged and with higher education. Also, several investigations found that those with higher income were associated with a higher use of CAM practices, whereas the effect of health status was not conclusive. Other possible predictors of complementary medicine utilization include the characteristics of people with respect to their cultural commitment such as feminism and environmentalism.
The increasing need of knowledge in CAM practice among medical professionals deserves notice. Approximately ninety seven percent of the physicians in developed countries had no education in the field of complementary medicine. However, ninety four percent of these physicians indicated interest in the topic. Even though their degrees of understanding of CAM culture are low, about 50% of medical doctors, to certain degree, had trust in the effectiveness of CAM practices. Some studies indicated that a majority of physicians in developed countries felt that complementary medicine should be a subject in the curriculum of standard medical education. Many medical doctors believe that knowledge gained from such courses would help them evaluate whether their patients benefit from the alternative medical practice they have received or practiced.
