Use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among emergency department (ED) patients in Sweden
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(2020) 20:327
BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Open Access
Use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among emergency department (ED) patients in Sweden Jenny M Carlsson1, Madelene Vestin1 and Kristofer Bjerså2*
Abstract Background: It has been suggested that the combination of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) with conventional medicine carries a risk of adverse effects. The prevalence of CAM usage among patients in the Swedish emergency department (ED) is unknown. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate CAM use among visiting patients at a Swedish ED. Method: A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed between August and October 2016 at an ED in Sweden. The questionnaire included 16 items regarding CAM use, factors associated with CAM use and patient healthcare communication and was distributed to 1600 patients. Results: A total of 1029 questionnaires was returned (RR 64.3%). Current CAM use was reported by 7.9%, during the last year by 38.0%, and within lifetime by 72.9%. Factors associated with CAM use were: being a woman, middleaged, in full-time employment, with secondary education level, higher use of non-prescription drugs and lower use of prescription drugs. Patient healthcare personnel communication about CAM was found to be approximately 5%. Conclusion: CAM usage exists among patients visiting Swedish EDs and almost one in ten uses CAM on the same day as the ED visit. CAM usage is associated with demographic factors. However, communication about CAM usage with ED personnel is poor. Keywords: Emergency service, complementary therapies, Communication, Patients, Sweden
Background Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a subject that has aroused great interest in general as well as in research during the last few decades [1–3]. A coherent definition of CAM is difficult to find due to the great variety of therapies, systems, and explanatory models available. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), which is a part of the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) and was formerly known as the National * Correspondence: [email protected] 2 Department of Surgery, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, S-41345 Gothenburg, Sweden Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), complementary medicine is defined as: “a non-mainstream practice used together with conventional medicine”, and alternative medicine as: “a nonmainstream practice used in place of conventional medicine” [4]. On the other hand, what is considered conventional medicine also differs between countries due to variations in culture, traditions and laws. Definitions used in this study are chosen from a Swedish thesis on CAM in surgical care [5] in which the definitions of conventional, complementary, alternative and integrative medicine are adapted to the Swedish healthcare context (see Table 1).
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