The Importance of Wellness Among Users of Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Findings from the 2007 National Health Interview Survey

Overview

Journal BMC Complement Altern Med

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Rehabilitation Medicine

Date 2015 Oct 16

PMID 26467652

Citations 22

Authors

Dawn M Upchurch

Bethany Wexler Rainisch

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: This study developed and tested a sociobehavioral wellness model of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to differentiate predisposing factors, enabling resources, need, and personal health practices according to use for wellness, for combined wellness and treatment, or for treatment alone.

Methods: Data were from the 2007 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a cross-sectional, nationally representative sample of 23,393 adult Americans. This analysis included people who used at least one CAM modality in the past 12 months (n = 7003 adult users). Prevalence estimates and multinomial logistic regression results were weighted and adjusted for complex sample design.

Results: Overall, 86 % of CAM users reported reason for use as wellness (51 %) or wellness combined with treatment (35 %). White women had the lowest (48 %) and Asian men (66 %) had the highest wellness use. Compared to treatment only users, wellness users were significantly more likely to be older, more educated, in better health, and engaged in multiple healthy behaviors. There was support that those with health conditions were using methods for both treatment and to maintain health.

Conclusions: The findings underscore the central role of CAM in health self-management and wellness lifestyle. At a time of national health care reform highlighting the importance of health and wellness and employers turning to wellness programs to improve worker performance and well-being, these findings suggest a central role of CAM in those public health endeavors.

Citing Articles

Varieties of silence - a mixed-methods study exploring reasons and justifications for nondisclosure of the use of complementary therapies to physicians in Finland.

Aarva P, Vaananen T, Pyykkonen M, Kankkunen T BMC Complement Med Ther. 2024; 24(1):336.

PMID: 39300393 PMC: 11414170. DOI: 10.1186/s12906-024-04640-w.

Complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine-specific COVID-19 misinformation on social media: A scoping review.

Ng J, Liu S, Maini I, Pereira W, Cramer H, Moher D Integr Med Res. 2023; 12(3):100975.

PMID: 37646043 PMC: 10460953. DOI: 10.1016/j.imr.2023.100975.

Management of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder: A Scoping Review.

Carlini S, di Scalea T, McNally S, Lester J, Deligiannidis K Int J Womens Health. 2022; 14:1783-1801.

PMID: 36575726 PMC: 9790166. DOI: 10.2147/IJWH.S297062.

Prevalence of Use of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine by the General Population: A Systematic Review of National Studies Published from 2010 to 2019.

Lee E, Richards N, Harrison J, Barnes J Drug Saf. 2022; 45(7):713-735.

PMID: 35788539 PMC: 9296440. DOI: 10.1007/s40264-022-01189-w.

Factors associated with the use of complementary therapies in Taiwanese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a cross-sectional study.

Lu M, Lo H, Chang H, Hsu C, Koo M BMC Complement Med Ther. 2021; 21(1):247.

PMID: 34598699 PMC: 8485480. DOI: 10.1186/s12906-021-03416-w.

References

Thorne S, Paterson B, Russell C, Schultz A . Complementary/alternative medicine in chronic illness as informed self-care decision making. Int J Nurs Stud. 2002; 39(7):671-83. DOI: 10.1016/s0020-7489(02)00005-6. View

Wolsko P, Eisenberg D, Davis R, Ettner S, Phillips R . Insurance coverage, medical conditions, and visits to alternative medicine providers: results of a national survey. Arch Intern Med. 2002; 162(3):281-7. DOI: 10.1001/archinte.162.3.281. View

Andersen R . Revisiting the behavioral model and access to medical care: does it matter?. J Health Soc Behav. 1995; 36(1):1-10. View

Bishop F, Yardley L, Lewith G . A systematic review of beliefs involved in the use of complementary and alternative medicine. J Health Psychol. 2007; 12(6):851-67. DOI: 10.1177/1359105307082447. View

Andersen R, NEWMAN J . Societal and individual determinants of medical care utilization in the United States. Milbank Mem Fund Q Health Soc. 1973; 51(1):95-124. View

Grzywacz J, Lang W, Suerken C, Quandt S, Bell R, Arcury T . Age, race, and ethnicity in the use of complementary and alternative medicine for health self-management: evidence from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey. J Aging Health. 2005; 17(5):547-72. DOI: 10.1177/0898264305279821. View

Upchurch D, Chyu L, Greendale G, Utts J, Bair Y, Zhang G . Complementary and alternative medicine use among American women: findings from The National Health Interview Survey, 2002. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2007; 16(1):102-13. DOI: 10.1089/jwh.2006.M074. View

Astin J . Why patients use alternative medicine: results of a national study. JAMA. 1998; 279(19):1548-53. DOI: 10.1001/jama.279.19.1548. View

Sirois F, Gick M . An investigation of the health beliefs and motivations of complementary medicine clients. Soc Sci Med. 2002; 55(6):1025-37. DOI: 10.1016/s0277-9536(01)00229-5. View

10.

Kannan V, Gaydos L, Atherly A, Druss B . Medical utilization among wellness consumers. Med Care Res Rev. 2010; 67(6):722-36. DOI: 10.1177/1077558710370706. View

11.

Fava G, Sonino N . Psychosomatic medicine: emerging trends and perspectives. Psychother Psychosom. 2000; 69(4):184-97. DOI: 10.1159/000012393. View

12.

Lorenc A, Ilan-Clarke Y, Robinson N, Blair M . How parents choose to use CAM: a systematic review of theoretical models. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2009; 9:9. PMC: 2680396. DOI: 10.1186/1472-6882-9-9. View

13.

Upchurch D, Rainisch B . A Sociobehavioral Model of Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Providers, Products, and Practices: Findings From the 2007 National Health Interview Survey. J Evid Based Complementary Altern Med. 2019; 18(2):100-107. DOI: 10.1177/2156587212463071. View

14.

Hsiao A, Wong M, Goldstein M, Becerra L, Cheng E, Wenger N . Complementary and alternative medicine use among Asian-American subgroups: prevalence, predictors, and lack of relationship to acculturation and access to conventional health care. J Altern Complement Med. 2007; 12(10):1003-10. DOI: 10.1089/acm.2006.12.1003. View

15.

Davis M, West A, Weeks W, Sirovich B . Health behaviors and utilization among users of complementary and alternative medicine for treatment versus health promotion. Health Serv Res. 2011; 46(5):1402-16. PMC: 3207184. DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-6773.2011.01270.x. View

16.

Arcury T, Quandt S, McDonald J, Bell R . Faith and health self-management of rural older adults. J Cross Cult Gerontol. 2003; 15(1):55-74. DOI: 10.1023/a:1006741625617. View

17.

Pagan J, Pauly M . Access to conventional medical care and the use of complementary and alternative medicine. Health Aff (Millwood). 2005; 24(1):255-62. DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.24.1.255. View

18.

Barnes P, Powell-Griner E, McFann K, Nahin R . Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults: United States, 2002. Adv Data. 2004; (343):1-19. View

19.

Schuster T, Dobson M, Jauregui M, Blanks R . Wellness lifestyles I: A theoretical framework linking wellness, health lifestyles, and complementary and alternative medicine. J Altern Complement Med. 2004; 10(2):349-56. DOI: 10.1089/107555304323062347. View

20.

Grzywacz J, Suerken C, Neiberg R, Lang W, Bell R, Quandt S . Age, ethnicity, and use of complementary and alternative medicine in health self-management. J Health Soc Behav. 2007; 48(1):84-98. DOI: 10.1177/002214650704800106. View