Relton, C., Cooper, K.L. orcid.org/0000-0002-7702-8103, Viksveen, P. et al. (2 more authors) (2017) Prevalence of homeopathy use by the general population worldwide: a systematic review. Homeopathy, 106 (2). pp. 69-78. ISSN 1475-4916
Abstract
Aim: To systematically review surveys of 12-month prevalence of homeopathy use by the general population worldwide Methods: Studies were identified via database searches to October 2015. Study quality was assessed using a six-item tool. All estimates were in the context of a survey which also reported prevalence of any complementary and alternative medicine use. Results: A total of 36 surveys were included. Of these, 67% met four of six quality criteria. Twelve-month prevalence of treatment by a homeopath was reported in 24 surveys of adults (median 1.5%, range 0.2% to 8.2%). Estimates for children were similar to those for adults. Rates in the US, UK, Australia and Canada all ranged from 0.2% to 2.9% and remained stable over the years surveyed (1986-2012). Twelve-month prevalence of all use of homeopathy (purchase of over-the-counter homeopathic medicines and treatment by a homeopath) was reported in 10 surveys of adults (median 3.9%, range 0.7% to 9.8%) while a further 11 surveys which did not define the type of homeopathy use reported similar data. Rates in the US and Australia ranged from 1.7% to 4.4% and remained stable over the years surveyed. The highest use was reported by a survey in Switzerland where homeopathy is covered by mandatory health insurance. Conclusions: This review summarises 12-month prevalence of homeopathy use from surveys conducted in eleven countries (USA, UK, Australia, Israel, Canada, Switzerland, Norway, Germany, South Korea, Japan and Singapore). Each year a small but significant percentage of these general populations use homeopathy. This includes visits to homeopaths as well as purchase of over-the-counter homeopathic medicines.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Faculty of Homeopathy. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | systematic review; prevalence; homeopathy; treatment by homeopaths; homeopathic medicines; over-the-counter medicines |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > School of Health and Related Research (Sheffield) > ScHARR - Sheffield Centre for Health and Related Research |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 17 Mar 2017 11:20 |
Last Modified: | 07 Jun 2017 08:28 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.homp.2017.03.002 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.homp.2017.03.002 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:113665 |