Volume 32, Issue 1, 1 February 2015, Pages 62-68
a
Institute of General Practice, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
b Institute of Medical Biometry, Epidemiology and Medical Informatics, Universitätsklinikum des Saarlandes, Homburg, Germany
b Institute of Medical Biometry, Epidemiology and Medical Informatics, Universitätsklinikum des Saarlandes, Homburg, Germany
Abstract
Background. Few studies have compared the belief in and the use of complementary and alternative medicine
(CAM) across different medical specialties. Objective. To investigate
to what extent family physicians, internists and orthopaedists working
in private practice in Germany
(i) belief in the efficacy of CAM therapies; (ii) use these therapies
for treating patients and (iii) whether beliefs and use are associated
with basic professional attitudes. Methods. A four-page questionnaire
was sent to nation-wide random samples of the three groups of
physicians. Participants were asked to indicate their belief in the
efficacy and their use of seven CAM treatments and to rate their
agreement to statements on orthodox and heterodox professional views,
patient-provider relationship and placebo effects. Results. A total of
935 of 2018 (46%) physicians contacted sent back a questionnaire. The
belief in specific effects of CAM therapies varied strongly within and
between specialties, but overall many physicians hold positive views.
Internists were more skeptic than family physicians and orthopaedists (P
< 0.001); 23% of family physicians, 6% of internists and 31% of
orthopaedists reported to use four or more CAM therapies more often than
once a week. Frequent CAM use was strongly associated with being an
orthopaedist and a higher overall belief in CAM modalities. Holding
orthodox professional views predicted low CAM use. Conclusions. Many
physicians (particularly, family physicians and orthopaedists) working
in private practice in Germany
use CAM therapies frequently and believe in their efficacy. Professional
views and the specific working situation seem to influence use and
believe strongly. © The Author 2014.
Author keywords
Attitudes of health personnel; Complementary therapies; General practice; Internal medicine; Orthopaedics; Physicians
Indexed keywords
EMTREE drug terms: vitamin
EMTREE medical terms: acupuncture; adult; alternative medicine; Article; chiropractic; controlled study; cross-sectional study; doctor patient relation; female; general practitioner; Germany; health belief; herbal medicine; homeopathy; human; internist; male; normal human; orthopedic specialist; osteopathic medicine; physician attitude; phytotherapy; placebo effect; private practice; questionnaire; therapy effect; alternative medicine; clinical practice; comparative study; general practice; health care survey; health personnel attitude; internal medicine; middle aged; orthopedics; physician; psychology; statistical model; statistics and numerical data; utilization
MeSH: Adult; Attitude of Health Personnel; Complementary Therapies; Cross-Sectional Studies; Family Practice; Female; Germany; Health Care Surveys; Humans; Internal Medicine; Logistic Models; Male; Middle Aged; Orthopedics; Physician's Practice Patterns; Physicians; Private Practice; Questionnaires
Medline is the source for the MeSH terms of this document.
Medline is the source for the MeSH terms of this document.
ISSN: 02632136
CODEN: FAPRESource Type: Journal
Original language: English
Publisher: Oxford University Press
