Abstract
BackgroundThe growing body of data on prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) usage means there is a need to standardize measurement on an international level. An international team has published a questionnaire (I-CAM-Q), but no validation has yet been provided. The aim of the present study was to provide a German measurement instrument for CAM usage (I-CAM-G) which closely resembles the original English version, and to assess it’s performance in two potential samples for measuring CAM usage.MethodsThe English I-CAM-Q questionnaire was translated into German, and adapted slightly. The resulting I-CAM-G questionnaire was then pre-tested on 16 healthy volunteers, and 12 cognitive interviews were carried out. The questionnaire was employed in a sample of breast cancer patients (N = 92, paper and pencil), and a sample from the general population (N = 210, internet survey). Descriptive analyses of items and missing data, as well as results from the cognitive interviews, are presented in this paper.ResultsThe translated questionnaire had to be adapted to be consistent with the German health care system. All items were comprehensible, whereby some items were unambiguous (e.g. CAM use yes/no, helpfulness), while others gave rise to ambiguous answers (e.g. reasons for CAM use), or high rates of missing data (e.g. number of times the CAM modality had been used during the last 3 months). 78% of the breast cancer patients and up to 85% of a sample of the general population had used some form of CAM.ConclusionsFollowing methodologically sound and comprehensive translation, adaptation and assessment processes using recognized translation procedures, cognitive interviews, and studying the performance of the questionnaire in two samples, we arrived at a German questionnaire for measuring CAM use which is comparable with the international (English) version. The questionnaire appropriately measures CAM use, with some items being more appropriate than others. We recommend the development of a short version.
Highlights
The growing body of data on prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) usage means there is a need to standardize measurement on an international level
Background studies show that interest in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is growing throughout the world [1,2,3], it is still difficult to find reliable data on the frequency of CAM use in, for example, specific diagnosisrelated groups
A systematic review of survey data on CAM usage in cancer patients shows that - apart from the measurement time frame - rates of CAM usage are largely dependent on whether the participants were interviewed face-to-face or by means of a paper-pencil questionnaire, whether respondents were prompted by means of a list of CAM therapies, and whether surveys restricted CAM usage to particular CAM modalities [8]
Summary
The growing body of data on prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) usage means there is a need to standardize measurement on an international level. Studies show that interest in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is growing throughout the world [1,2,3], it is still difficult to find reliable data on the frequency of CAM use in, for example, specific diagnosisrelated groups. This is partly because the reasons for using CAM vary considerably. A systematic review of survey data on CAM usage in cancer patients shows that - apart from the measurement time frame - rates of CAM usage are largely dependent on whether the participants were interviewed face-to-face or by means of a paper-pencil questionnaire, whether respondents were prompted by means of a list of CAM therapies, and whether surveys restricted CAM usage to particular CAM modalities [8]
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