The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #55534

Julie Gast, PhD and Heather Thunell, MS. Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, Utah State University, 7000 Old Main Hill, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-7000, 435-797-1490, julieg@cc.usu.edu

The purpose of the study was to examine the prevalence of alternative medicine use in a rural western county using a cross-sectional research design. Telephone interviews were conducted with 200 randomly selected adults who were asked to complete a survey concerning respondent’s general health, alternative medicine use, perceived effectiveness of alternative medicine, doctor/patient communication concerning nontraditional therapies, reasons for use, and demographic information. Data analysis indicated that 66% of respondents had used alternative medicine within the past year. A total of 65.2% reportedly used alternative medicine due to recommendations from family/friends and not necessarily because of a dissatisfaction with traditional medicine. In our research, there was a high disclosure of use (62.6%) to respondent’s physicians, contrary to earlier research findings. Additionally, 96.2% of respondents said they would recommend these treatments to friends or family members. This may be due to the high level of social networking in rural areas. Past research has not focused on rural alternative medicine use. This research shows that alternative medicine use is common in western rural areas. Additionally, rural residents may be more likely to report use to their physicians than other populations. The respondents were generally satisfied with traditional medicine, but used alternative medicine as well supporting the idea of integrative medicine for the future.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to:
• Identify the most commonly used CAM therapies in rural areas
• Recognize that physicians rarely refer patients to alternative medicine pratitioners, even when patients expressed interest.
• Identify that rural patients had a higher rate of CAM use disclosure to physicians than has been found in past research.
• identify the demographic groups most likely to use CAm in a rural area.

Keywords: Alternative Medicine/Therapies, Rural Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.