Abstract
BackgroundWhile traditional, complementary and alternative medicine (TCAM) is gaining increased interest worldwide, the structural factors associated with the usage of TCAM at the social level have not been sufficiently explored. We aim to understand the social structure of uncertainty in society that affects the TCAM usage for men and women.MethodsWe studied 32 countries using data from the International Social Survey Programme and the World Bank. In this study, we defined TCAM usage as visits to an alternative/traditional/folk health care practitioner during the past 12 months. We performed a correlation analysis and used a generalized linear model .ResultsThe prevalence of TCAM usage in terms of visits to practitioners was 26.1% globally, while usage varied across the 32 countries. Generalized linear models showed that unemployment rate was associated with the prevalence of TCAM usage in terms of visits to practitioners.ConclusionsAt the social-structural level TCAM usage involving visits to practitioners was related to job insecurity. Job insecurity led to a decrease in TCAM usage regarding visits to practitioners. These findings suggest that it is necessary to consider the social-structural factors of uncertainty in society when designing health policies related to TCAM.
Highlights
While traditional, complementary and alternative medicine (TCAM) is gaining increased interest worldwide, the structural factors associated with the usage of TCAM at the social level have not been sufficiently explored
According to a national health interview survey of the general population in Taiwan in the same year, the proportion of TCAM usage was 31.8% among men and 22.4% among women [12]. These results show that the prevalence of TCAM usage varies greatly across countries and that there is a high level of interest in TCAM the world over
This paper focused only on the social-structural factors of uncertainty in society, it will be necessary in future studies to explore how TCAM usage is institutionalized in the healthcare systems of each country, as well as to examine whether people can use TCAM in terms of cost
Summary
Complementary and alternative medicine (TCAM) is gaining increased interest worldwide, the structural factors associated with the usage of TCAM at the social level have not been sufficiently explored. According to a national health interview survey of the general population in Taiwan in the same year, the proportion of TCAM usage was 31.8% among men and 22.4% among women [12]. These results show that the prevalence of TCAM usage varies greatly across countries and that there is a high level of interest in TCAM the world over
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