The Role of Scientific Evidence in the Decision to Use Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Abstract

In a recent survey of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use by adults with inflammatory bowel disease, 65% of participants reported that they would continue to use CAM despite a negative scientific report. This assertion was related to reported positive experiences with CAM, suggesting that positive experiences may comprise sufficient evidence to continue CAM use and may override scientific evidence. These results raise two concerns: (i) many patients do not pay attention to the evidence that we, as researchers, generate; and (ii) the evidence that we generate may not reflect patients’ experiences.