Pediatricians' experience with and attitudes toward complementary/alternative medicine

Abstract

Objective: To assess (1) pediatricians' attitudes toward and practice of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for their patients; (2) their knowledge, experience, and referral patterns for selected CAM therapies; and (3) their desire for continuing medical education courses on CAM therapies. Method: An anonymous, self-report, 25-item questionnaire was mailed to fellows of the Michigan chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Results: Of 860 pediatricians, 348 (40.5%) responded; their median age ranged from 35 to 45 years, 54.3% were men, 67.6% were white, 67.9% were general pediatricians, and 65.2% were trained in the United States. Of the respondents, 83.5% believed their patients use CAM therapies, but 55.1% believed this constituted less than 10% of patients. Of the pediatricians who talked about CAM (53.8%), 84.7% said the discussion was initiated generally by the patient's family. More than half of the physicians (55.2%) said they would use CAM therapies personally, and 50.3% would refer for CAM therapies. Therapies referred for were biofeedback (23.6%), self-help groups (23.3%), relaxation (14.9%), hypnosis (13.8%), and acupuncture or acupressure (10.9%). Of the physicians who responded, 54.1% were interested in continuing medical education courses on CAM therapies. White respondents, US medical school graduates, and general pediatricians were most likely to believe their patients use CAM and discuss or refer for CAM therapies (P