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Why do patients turn to complementary medicine? An empirical study

C Vincent1, A Furnham

  • 1Department of Psychology, University College London, UK.

The British Journal of Clinical Psychology
|February 1, 1996
PubMed
Summary

Patients seek complementary medicine like acupuncture, osteopathy, and homeopathy for holistic care and dissatisfaction with conventional treatments. Positive valuation of complementary therapies and perceived ineffectiveness of orthodox medicine were key drivers.

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Area of Science:

  • Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)
  • Health Services Research

Background:

  • Growing patient interest in complementary medicine practices.
  • Limited understanding of specific patient motivations for seeking CAM.
  • Need to compare reasons across different CAM modalities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify and rank patient-reported reasons for seeking complementary medicine.
  • To compare these reasons across acupuncture, osteopathy, and homeopathy patient groups.
  • To explore the influence of orthodox medicine's effectiveness and side effects.

Main Methods:

  • Survey of over 250 patients across three complementary medicine practices.
  • Questionnaire assessing 20 potential reasons for seeking treatment.
  • Analysis of covariance to control for demographic differences between groups.

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Main Results:

  • Top reasons include valuing holistic care, belief in CAM effectiveness, and active health participation.
  • Ineffectiveness of orthodox treatment and concerns about its side effects were significant factors.
  • Osteopathy patients prioritized availability; homeopathy patients cited orthodox medicine's ineffectiveness, linked to complaint chronicity.

Conclusions:

  • Patient motivations for seeking complementary medicine are multifactorial, emphasizing holistic approaches and dissatisfaction with conventional care.
  • Differences exist in motivations across specific complementary therapies.
  • Further research should distinguish between initiating and continuing treatment motivations.