Autonomy and practice: the case of complementary practitioners in the UK

Area of Science:

• Complementary and Alternative Medicine
• Medical Policy
• Healthcare Professional Attitudes

Background:

• The British Medical Association (BMA) has revised its stance on complementary medicine.
• Understanding practitioner acceptance of BMA involvement in guideline formulation is crucial for policy development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess UK complementary medicine practitioners' acceptance of BMA participation in guideline formulation.
• To evaluate support for specific BMA proposals among these practitioners.
• To identify attitudinal differences between various complementary therapy groups.

Main Methods:

• A postal survey was conducted among 1000 UK complementary medicine practitioners (chiropractic, homeopathy, herbalism, reflexology).
• Systematic sampling targeted 250 practitioners from relevant professional bodies.
• A response rate of 57% was achieved.

Main Results:

• The majority of practitioners accepted the principle of BMA participation, with 87.7% specifying it should not be a major role.
• Individual BMA proposals received majority support, with acceptance rates ranging from 59.7% to 92.9%.
• Statistically significant differences in attitudes towards certain proposals were observed between different therapy groups.

Conclusions:

• The BMA's revised approach to complementary medicine is likely to be well-received by practitioners.
• There is considerable common ground between BMA proposals and practitioner acceptance.
• Divergent views among practitioners and specific barriers related to therapies and issues complicate universal adoption of proposed measures.