HEALTH SERVICE RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION ABSTRACTS
Please note: All posters will be displayed in
Salons 10-12.
FRIDAY, 10:15-11:00 AM
Tan CC, Spier S.
Complementary and alternative medicine use in asthmatic
children in a tertiary centre.
University of Calgary cheechun.tan@med.ucalgary.ca
OBJECTIVE: Asthma affects up to 15% of Canadian
children and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is commonly
used in children with chronic illnesses. The purpose of this study was
to determine the prevalence of CAM use in asthmatic children attending
a tertiary pediatric asthma referral center and compare the prevalence
with the data collected from the same center in 1999, as well as to
describe other attitudes change towards CAM use between then and now.
METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted
at the Calgary Health Region Pediatric Asthma Clinic in Alberta Children's
Hospital, Calgary. Consecutive parents or caretakers of patients with
a diagnosis of asthma for more than a year were asked to complete a
questionnaire that was formulated closely to the study done in 1999.
RESULTS: Of the 108 participants who met the
criteria for the study, 29 (26.9%) were aware of CAM use for asthma
and 20 (18.5%) have/had used CAM. This is a decrease from 31.9% found
in 1999 (p=0.069). Nevertheless, we found a significant increase in
the number of users using more than one CAM modality, from 2.32% to
70% (p<0.001). The most common types of CAM used were vitamins and minerals,
chiropractic and herbal medication, together accounting for more than
half of CAM used. There were significant increase in the use of vitamins
and minerals (p=0.006), homeopathy and naturopathy (p=0.02). The main
reasons for CAM use were the perception that CAM is more natural and
the concerns of the side effects with conventional medicine. The main
reasons for choosing not to use CAM were the satisfaction with the conventional
health care team and lack of awareness on CAM use in asthma. Less than
half (45%) of CAM users told their physicians about their use mostly
because they never thought about telling their physicians and physicians
not asking them about CAM use.
CONCLUSIONS: CAM use in asthmatic children is
still common, albeit a downward trend is observed possibly secondary
to improved conventional health care. There are significantly more people
using combinations of CAM modalities with significant rise in the use
of vitamins and minerals, homeopathy and naturopathy. Few physicians
know about their patients' use of CAM largely because they did not ask
and this may be a concern given the potential side effects reported
with CAM use.
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