Complementary and alternative medicine consultations in urban and nonurban areas: A national survey of 1427 Australian women

Abstract

Objectives The purpose of this study was to evaluate survey data from a national cross-sectional sample of 1427 urban and nonurban Australian women focusing on the relationship between the use of specific complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioner types and the levels of CAM use across urban and nonurban areas. Methods A cross-sectional survey of 1427 middle-aged participants from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health conducted in 2009 was performed. The survey was designed to investigate multiple factors affecting the health and well-being of a cohort of women, with a particular emphasis on urban and nonurban residence. Women in 3 age groups ("young" 18-23 years, "mid-age" 45-50 years, and "older" 70-75 years) were randomly selected from the national Medicare database. The survey covered place of residence, measures of health status, rating of health care providers/services, and consultation with CAM practitioners. Results The most commonly consulted CAM practitioners for this sample were massage therapists (n = 912; 63.9%), doctors of chiropractic/ chiropractors (n = 614; 43.0%), and naturopaths/herbal therapists (n = 327; 22.9%). Statistically significant differences between the areas of residence were found for women who used chiropractors (P =.0165), yoga practitioners (P =.0087), and osteopaths (P