Abstract
BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to determine, among the Indian community of Chatsworth, South Africa, the prevalence and utilisation patterns of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), attitudes associated with CAM use and communication patterns of CAM users with their primary care doctors.MethodsFace-to-face structured interviews were conducted in Chatsworth, a suburb of Durban in which South Africans of Indian origin predominantly reside. Participants were 200 randomly selected adult English-speaking Indian residents.ResultsThe prevalence of CAM usage for period 2000/2001 was 38.5% (95% confidence interval 31.7% to 45.6%). Spiritual healing and herbal/natural medicines, including vitamins were the most common types of CAM used, accounting for 42.8% and 48.1% respectively of overall CAM usage. People used CAM to treat conditions including diabetes mellitus, headaches, arthritis and joint pains, stress, skin disorders, backaches, hypertension and nasal disorders. Half of the CAM users used allopathic medicines concurrently. The cost of CAM utilization over this 1-year period, incurred by 80.5% of users for the duration of therapy for their most troublesome condition was below R500 (approximately US$50). Age, sex, marital status, religion, level of education and income were shown not to influence the use of CAM. Greater than half (51.9%) of CAM users did so either upon the advice of someone they knew, or after noticing a CAM advertisement in the local press. Seventy-nine percent of CAM users indicated that they had positive outcomes with their treatments. Fifty four percent of CAM users (excluding those using spiritual healing only) failed to inform their doctors that they used CAM. The main reason given by half of this group was that informing their doctors did not seem necessary.ConclusionThe prevalence of CAM in Chatsworth is similar to findings in other parts of the world. Although CAM was used to treat many different ailments, this practice could not be attributed to any particular demographic profile. The majority of CAM users were satisfied with the effects of CAM. Findings support a need for greater integration of allopathic medicine and CAM, as well as improved communication between patients and caregivers regarding CAM usage.
Highlights
The purpose of this study was to determine, among the Indian community of Chatsworth, South Africa, the prevalence and utilisation patterns of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), attitudes associated with CAM use and communication patterns of CAM users with their primary care doctors
A follow-up survey in 1998 reported that 40% of Americans used CAM for chronic conditions in the preceding year [5]. They made a staggering 629 million visits to CAM practitioners, far exceeding the 386 million visits made to primary care physicians during the same year
Barnes et al conducted a systematic literature search of the MEDLINE database from 1966 through to 1996, to investigate the growth of interest in CAM by the professional scientific community [6]. They concluded that interest in and awareness of complementary medicine among orthodox health care professionals had increased during this period, and that the number of studies on alternative medicine published in scientific journals was increasing
Summary
The purpose of this study was to determine, among the Indian community of Chatsworth, South Africa, the prevalence and utilisation patterns of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), attitudes associated with CAM use and communication patterns of CAM users with their primary care doctors. Barnes et al conducted a systematic literature search of the MEDLINE database from 1966 through to 1996, to investigate the growth of interest in CAM by the professional scientific community [6] They concluded that interest in and awareness of complementary medicine among orthodox health care professionals had increased during this period, and that the number of studies on alternative medicine published in scientific journals was increasing. Advertisements and supplements on CAM are appearing in the local and regional South African newspapers such as the Chatsworth Times, Rising Sun, Sunday Tribune and Post, as well as local magazines such as Durban's Metro Beat These heighten public interest and lend authority to therapies or medicines that were previously labeled as merely having a "placebo effect"
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