Broadly conceptualized, the term “complementary and alternative medicine” (CAM) refers to treatments not considered to be standard to the current practice of Western medicine. “Complementary” refers to the use of these techniques in combination with conventional approaches, whereas “alternative” refers to their use in lieu of conventional practices. Of course, many treatments and techniques (e....

Received 13 November 2003 Revised version received 13 November 2003 Accepted for publication 27 November 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T he popularity of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is considerable: the one year prevalence of CAM usage is 42% in the United States and 20% in the United Kingdom. As it turns out, at first glimpse, there are very few difference...

background: multiple sclerosis (ms) is an unpredictable neurological disease leading to severe disability in young adults.  the  majority of ms patients  use  complementary and     alternative medicine  (cam)  as adjunct  to conventional  therapies.  this study  aimed  to  investigate the prevalence  of cam utilization among  iranian patients with ms and their attitude  toward the cam usage. me...

BACKGROUND There is growing interest in the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) throughout the world, however previous research done in Japan has focused primarily on CAM use in major cities. The purpose of this study was to develop and distribute a Japanese version of the International Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire (I-CAM-Q) to assess the use of CAM among...

The use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) among cancer patients is widespread and appears to be increasing. However, it is not clear whether patients use CAM as an 'alternative' to standard oncology care or as an adjunct to the conventional treatment they receive. This study reviews the role of CAM therapies in the management of cancer, from the view of both patients and health pr...

BACKGROUND The amount of reliable information available for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is limited, and few authoritative resources are available. OBJECTIVE The objective is to investigate the information-seeking behavior of health professionals seeking CAM information. METHODS Data were gathered using a Web-based questionnaire made available to health sciences faculty affi...

An increasing number of asthmatic patients are attracted by complementary and and alternative medicine (CAM). The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and describe the characteristics of CAM use by children with asthma in a paediatric allergy clinic in Istanbul, Turkey. The parents of asthmatic children were invited to participate in a cross-sectional survey study. Current asthma tr...

BACKGROUND The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) persists, despite the availability of conventional medicine (CM), modernisation, globalisation, technological advancement, and limited scientific evidence supporting CAM. People with cardiovascular diseases often use CAM, despite possible major adverse effects and lack of evidence supporting CAM claims. This study explored CAM u...

OBJECTIVES To determine pharmacy faculty members' and students' attitudes and perceptions regarding the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). METHODS A survey was used to obtain data on the following information concerning CAM: general attitudes, perceived barriers to use, training received and desired, personal use, and information sources used. RESULTS In general, attitudes...

There is increasing pressure on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to follow the evidence-based approach promoted in allied health and medicine, in which the randomised control trial represents the evidence gold standard. However, many CAM advocates see these methods as undermining the holism of CAM practice. This paper explores how such tensions are managed in CAM university departme...