This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on Web of Science (56)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Medical Practice  • Medical Education  • Alert me on articles by topic  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Anju Sikand, MD; Marilyn Laken, PhD

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1998;152:1059-1064.

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<.01). Female pediatricians were most likely to discuss or refer for CAM and to want more continuing medical education on CAM therapies (P<.05).

Conclusions  A majority of pediatricians sampled believed a small percentage of their patients were seeking alternatives to conventional medicine. Half would consider referring patients for CAM, and most were interested in continuing medical education courses on CAM. Larger studies surveying pediatricians, along with more education and research on CAM therapies, need to be considered for the future.

From the Division of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Michigan, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit (Dr Sikand); and College of Nursing, Medical University of South Carolina, South Charleston (Dr Laken).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Utilization of Western Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine Services by Physicians and Their Relatives: The Role of Training Background
Huang et al.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2009;0:nep094v1-nep094.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Patient Disclosure about Herb and Supplement Use among Adults in the US
Kennedy et al.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2008;5:451-456.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Pediatrics
Kemper et al.
Pediatrics 2008;122:1374-1386.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

A Literature Review of Health Care Professional Attitudes Toward Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Sewitch et al.
Complementary Health Practice Review 2008;13:139-154.
ABSTRACT  

Structural constraints and opportunities for CAM use and referral by physicians, nurses, and midwives
Hirschkorn and Bourgeault
Health (London) 2008;12:193-213.
ABSTRACT  

Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in a General Pediatric Clinic
Jean and Cyr
Pediatrics 2007;120:e138-e141.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Views of Pediatric Health Care Providers on the Use of Herbs and Dietary Supplements in Children
Woolf et al.
CLIN PEDIATR 2005;44:579-587.
ABSTRACT  

Pediatric Health Care Providers' Attitudes and Referral Predictors for Therapeutic Massage and Acupuncture
McLellan et al.
Complementary Health Practice Review 2005;10:119-131.
ABSTRACT  

Complementary Therapies in Pediatrics: A Legal Perspective
Cohen and Kemper
Pediatrics 2005;115:774-780.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Herbal Therapy Use in a Pediatric Emergency Department Population: Expect the Unexpected
Lanski et al.
Pediatrics 2003;111:981-985.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Use and Referral Patterns for 22 Complementary and Alternative Medical Therapies by Members of the American College of Rheumatology: Results of a National Survey
Berman et al.
Arch Intern Med 2002;162:766-770.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Academic Physicians and Complementary and Alternative Medicine: An Institutional Survey
Rosenbaum et al.
American Journal of Medical Quality 2002;17:3-9.
ABSTRACT  

Consultations for Holistic Pediatric Services for Inpatients and Outpatient Oncology Patients at a Children's Hospital
Kemper and Wornham
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2001;155:449-454.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Current topic: Complementary and alternative medicine for children: does it work?
Kemper
Arch. Dis. Child. 2001;84:6-9.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Holistic Pediatrics: A Research Agenda
Kemper et al.
Pediatrics 1999;103:902-909.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT