Introduction and background
Although women are increasingly using complementary and alternative (CAM) therapies,
a national profile characterizing women who use CAM has yet to be described. The purpose
of this study is to provide prevalence estimates of recent CAM use among American
women and to examine sociodemographic and other characteristics associated with use.
Methods
Data from the 1999 National Health Interview Survey are used for the analysis. Three
operational definitions of recent CAM use are employed (any CAM, type-specific, and
domain-specific use). All proportions and prevalence estimates are weighted and standard
errors are adjusted to account for complex sample design; weighted logistic regression
(with coefficient variance adjustment) is also used.
Results
Overall, 33.5% of American women used CAM in the past 12 months. Spiritual healing/prayer
and herbal medicine are the most commonly used, and hypnosis, biofeedback, and energy
healing are the least common. Multivariate results show that women who are older,
have more education, poorer health, or live in the west or midwest (versus south)
are more likely to use CAM. Compared to whites, blacks, Hispanics, and Asians are
less likely to use CAM. Foreign-born women, those with lower income, or who live in
the Northeast are also less likely to use CAM. Insurance status is not independently
associated with CAM use.
Conclusions and discussion
This study provides one of the first comprehensive investigations of CAM use among
American women. Future research examining the determinants of CAM use, incorporating
attitudinal and health conditions, as well as clinical efficacy, effectiveness, and
health outcome studies of specific CAM therapies are warranted.
Keywords
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Biography
Dawn Upchurch is a professor of Public Health at UCLA and has a long-standing interest in women’s reproductive health. Currently, she is researching CAM use among women, with a particular emphasis on acupuncture and women’s reproductive health at midlife.
Biography
Laura Chyu is a doctoral student in the UCLA School of Public Health. Her interests lie in women’s reproductive health and fertility trends, specifically focusing on racial/ethnic disparities and effects of nativity status.
Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
August 27,
2004
Received in revised form:
July 14,
2004
Received:
March 18,
2004
Identification
Copyright
© 2005 Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
