Trusted information sources: the preferred option for complementary and alternative medicine users

Anske Robinson, Simon Kimberley Cooper

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

    19 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The objective of this article is to explore complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) users reliance on health service providers, different forms of media, and interpersonal contacts for their health-needs information. To explore this information, a survey was posted to a random sample of 1,308 people in five rural and two metropolitan localities in Victoria, Australia. The response rate was 40 (n = 459). The overall current CAM use was 52 and lifetime use was 85 . We found that the CAM users obtained most of their health needs information from doctors and CAM practitioners, whereas the Internet and health food shops served as the least useful sources of information. The respondents who used the modalities we labeled as natural remedy modalities accessed the most health information. The study results show that although conventional medicine may question some types of health care information that forms the basis of respondents decision making, their health care decisions are nevertheless informed decisions.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)120 - 138
    Number of pages19
    JournalComplementary Health Practice Review
    Volume12
    Issue number2
    Publication statusPublished - 2007

    Cite this