Psychological Predictors of the Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicines During Pregnancy Within a Sample of Swiss Women

Overview

Journal Health Psychol Res

Date 2020 Jun 13

PMID 32529091

Citations 2

Authors

Jerome Blonde

Olivier Desrichard

Barbara Kaiser

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Past works have witnessed increased prevalence of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) among women during pregnancy. This study aimed to identify psychological antecedents underlying CAM use through the exploration of various predictors. Drawing upon the literature on the use of CAM in contexts unrelated to pregnancy, this research explored the role of various predictors: perceived stress, beliefs about medicine, health locus of control (HLOC), health literacy, bullshit receptivity, and belief in conspiracy theories (CT). 376 Swiss women were recruited to complete a web-based questionnaire in which the use of different kinds of CAM was investigated. We performed hierarchical regression analyses with backward method to assess the overall variance explained by the predictors, as well as their unique contributions. We measured the number of CAM used during last pregnancy and frequency of use. Analyses showed that CAM use was positively associated with perceived stress, beliefs about medicine, internal HLOC, and belief in CT. In contrast, negative relationships were found with external HLOC, bullshit receptivity, and health literacy. By illuminating such factors, this research contributed to explaining why women may be tempted to choose CAM in place of conventional medicine, which may be of particular interest for health professionals in the planning of communication strategies aimed at limiting risks associated to their use during pregnancy.

Citing Articles

The Relationship between Bullshit Receptivity and Willingness to Share Misinformation about Climate Change: The Moderating Role of Pregnancy.

Lai K, Yang Y, Na Y, Wang H Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022; 19(24).

PMID: 36554551 PMC: 9779392. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192416670.

Health literacy in dietary supplement use among working-age groups: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Intarakamhang U, Prasittichok P Heliyon. 2022; 8(8):e10320.

PMID: 35991992 PMC: 9384266. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10320.

References

Chung S, Yeh T, Wu C . Trend and pattern of herb and supplement use among pregnant women in the United States: findings from the 2002, 2007, and 2012 US National Health Interview Surveys. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2016; 216(2):189-190. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2016.11.1019. View

Reid R, Steel A, Wardle J, Trubody A, Adams J . Complementary medicine use by the Australian population: a critical mixed studies systematic review of utilisation, perceptions and factors associated with use. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2016; 16:176. PMC: 4902999. DOI: 10.1186/s12906-016-1143-8. View

Chew L, Griffin J, Partin M, Noorbaloochi S, Grill J, Snyder A . Validation of screening questions for limited health literacy in a large VA outpatient population. J Gen Intern Med. 2008; 23(5):561-6. PMC: 2324160. DOI: 10.1007/s11606-008-0520-5. View

Hall H, Griffiths D, McKenna L . The use of complementary and alternative medicine by pregnant women: a literature review. Midwifery. 2011; 27(6):817-24. DOI: 10.1016/j.midw.2010.08.007. 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

Hall H, Jolly K . Women's use of complementary and alternative medicines during pregnancy: a cross-sectional study. Midwifery. 2013; 30(5):499-505. DOI: 10.1016/j.midw.2013.06.001. View

Ono R, Higashi T, Suzukamo Y, Konno S, Takahashi O, Tokuda Y . Higher internality of health locus of control is associated with the use of complementary and alternative medicine providers among patients seeking care for acute low-back pain. Clin J Pain. 2008; 24(8):725-30. DOI: 10.1097/AJP.0b013e3181759261. View

Lahrach Y, Furnham A . Are modern health worries associated with medical conspiracy theories?. J Psychosom Res. 2017; 99:89-94. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2017.06.004. View

Wallston K, Wallston B, Devellis R . Development of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) Scales. Health Educ Monogr. 1978; 6(2):160-70. DOI: 10.1177/109019817800600107. View

10.

Paasche-Orlow M, Wolf M . The causal pathways linking health literacy to health outcomes. Am J Health Behav. 2007; 31 Suppl 1:S19-26. DOI: 10.5555/ajhb.2007.31.supp.S19. View

11.

Furlow M, Patel D, Sen A, Liu J . Physician and patient attitudes towards complementary and alternative medicine in obstetrics and gynecology. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2008; 8:35. PMC: 2464574. DOI: 10.1186/1472-6882-8-35. View

12.

Steel A, Adams J, Sibbritt D, Broom A . The outcomes of complementary and alternative medicine use among pregnant and birthing women: current trends and future directions. Womens Health (Lond). 2015; 11(3):309-23. DOI: 10.2217/whe.14.84. View

13.

Furnham A . Are modern health worries, personality and attitudes to science associated with the use of complementary and alternative medicine?. Br J Health Psychol. 2007; 12(Pt 2):229-43. DOI: 10.1348/135910706X100593. View

14.

Steel A, Adams J, Sibbritt D, Broom A, Gallois C, Frawley J . Utilisation of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners within maternity care provision: results from a nationally representative cohort study of 1,835 pregnant women. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2012; 12:146. PMC: 3534226. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2393-12-146. View

15.

Lindeman M . Biases in intuitive reasoning and belief in complementary and alternative medicine. Psychol Health. 2010; 26(3):371-82. DOI: 10.1080/08870440903440707. View

16.

Mitchell M . Risk, pregnancy and complementary and alternative medicine. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2010; 16(2):109-13. DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2009.10.005. View

17.

Nordeng H, Havnen G . Use of herbal drugs in pregnancy: a survey among 400 Norwegian women. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2004; 13(6):371-80. DOI: 10.1002/pds.945. View

18.

Hollyer T, Boon H, Georgousis A, Smith M, Einarson A . The use of CAM by women suffering from nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2002; 2:5. PMC: 113747. DOI: 10.1186/1472-6882-2-5. View

19.

Lesage F, Berjot S, Deschamps F . Psychometric properties of the French versions of the Perceived Stress Scale. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2012; 25(2):178-84. DOI: 10.2478/S13382-012-0024-8. View

20.

Adams J, Lui C, Sibbritt D, Broom A, Wardle J, Homer C . Women's use of complementary and alternative medicine during pregnancy: a critical review of the literature. Birth. 2009; 36(3):237-45. DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-536X.2009.00328.x. View