September 16, 1998 – Contrary to popular belief, the main reason people turn to Alternative and Complementary Health Approaches (AACS) is that they are more in line with their ideas of healing and are more congruent with their personal values.
This is the surprising conclusion of a large opinion poll of 1035 randomly selected AACS users. This survey published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows that the main factors allowing to predict the use of AACS are: a higher level of education, a fragile health, a holistic vision of health, having lived an experience which transformed his vision of the world, having one of the following health concerns: anxiety, back pain, chronic pain, urinary tract problems, and being interested in feminism, the environment, spirituality and personal growth.
In contrast, dissatisfaction with conventional medical treatments is not a predictor of AACS use. The survey also showed that only 4.4% of respondents primarily used AACS for their health problems. The researcher concludes that we will continue to see patients using both types of approaches.
According to Jeanne Achterberg, PhD, editor ofAlternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, the leading scientific journal entirely devoted to AACS, this study encourages medical practice that integrates questions of value and meaning. From a sociological point of view, it must be concluded that the philosophical orientation of conventional medicine appears deeply unsatisfactory in the eyes of the most educated and the most sensitive people even if they observe its mechanical efficiency.
HealthPassport.net
Astin JA. Why patients use alternative medicine: results of a national study, JAMA. 1998; 279: 1548-1553
Source: Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 1998, vol. 4, no. 5
