Table 4 Use of CAM (personal and practice), referral patterns, safety/harmfulness, and effectiveness of various complementary/alternative therapies (N = 648)
Therapies | Therapies practiced (%) | Self or Family use (%) | Refer for (%) | May be effective (%) | Safe (%) | May be harmful (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Acupuncture/Acupressure | 3 | 20.5 | 34 | 83 | 65 | 6 |
Aromatherapy | 2.5 | 20 | 5 | 26 | 49 | 4 |
Ayurvedic | 0.6 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 8 | 4 |
Biofeedback | 5 | 11 | 52.5 | 79.5 | 66 | 1 |
Chiropractic | 0.9 | 16 | 25 | 54 | 21 | 57 |
Energy healing/polarity Magnetic healing | 0.4 | 6 | 4 | 16 | 24 | 9 |
Herbs (N American or Chinese) | 5 | 17 | 10 | 52 | 15 | 61 |
High dose anti-oxidant vitamins/minerals | 5 | 17 | 4 | 31 | 13 | 57 |
Homeopathy | 2 | 7 | 5 | 32 | 24 | 23 |
Hypnosis | 3.5 | 9 | 29 | 71 | 49 | 5 |
Imagery | 6 | 10 | 21 | 51.5 | 46 | 2 |
Life style diet (Ornish, macrobiotic etc) | 5 | 11 | 11 | 39 | 20.5 | 30 |
Massage therapy | 8 | 34 | 39 | 75 | 66 | 3 |
Prayer for healing | 9 | 18 | 9 | 49 | 54 | 8 |
Reflexology | 1 | 8 | 5 | 21 | 27 | 3 |
Relaxation (yoga, meditation) | 9 | 29 | 32 | 75 | 71 | 2 |
Touch Therapy | 2 | 5 | 8 | 38 | 43 | 2 |