Harris, P.E., Cooper, K.L. orcid.org/0000-0002-7702-8103, Relton, C. et al. (1 more author) (2012) Prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use by the general population: a systematic review and update. International Journal of Clinical Practice, 66 (10). pp. 924-939. ISSN 1368-5031
Abstract
Objectives: To update previous systematic reviews of 12-month prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use by general populations; to explore trends in CAM use by national populations; to develop and apply a brief tool for assessing methodological quality of published CAM-use prevalence surveys.
Design: Nine databases were searched for published studies from 1998 onwards. Studies prior to 1998 were identified from two previous systematic reviews. A six-item literature-based tool was devised to assess robustness and interpretability of CAM-use estimates.
Results: Fifty-one reports from 49 surveys conducted in 15 countries met the inclusion criteria. We extracted 32 estimates of 12-month prevalence of use of any CAM (range 9.8–76%) and 33 estimates of 12-month prevalence of visits to CAM practitioners (range 1.8–48.7%). Quality of methodological reporting was variable; 30/51 survey reports (59%) met four or more of six quality criteria. Estimates of 12-month prevalence of any CAM use (excluding prayer) from surveys using consistent measurement methods showed remarkable stability in Australia (49%, 52%, 52%; 1993, 2000, 2004) and USA (36%, 38%; 2002, 2007).
Conclusions: There was evidence of substantial CAM use in the 15 countries surveyed. Where national trends were discernable because of consistent measurement, there was no evidence to suggest a change in 12-month prevalence of CAM use since the previous systematic reviews were published in 2000. Periodic surveys are important to monitor population-level CAM use. Use of government-sponsored health surveys may enhance robustness of population-based prevalence estimates. Comparisons across countries could be improved by standardising approaches to data collection.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in International Journal of Clinical Practice. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
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: | 09 May 2016 11:06 |
Last Modified: | 11 May 2016 03:42 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1742-1241.2012.02945.x |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/j.1742-1241.2012.02945.x |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:96918 |