Original Article
The use of complementary and alternative health care practices among children
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Abstract

Introduction: The purposes of this descriptive study were to: (a) describe the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practices for children as reported by their parents, and (b) to develop a CAM screening tool. Method: A convenience sample of 191 parents was obtained from 3 primary care settings within a midwestern, metropolitan area. The questionnaire consisted of: (a) seven screening questions, (b) a list of specific CAM therapies used by children and by parents, (c) six open-ended questions about sick child care, and (d) a demographic section. Results: Thirty-three percent of parents reported using CAM for their child within the past year, most commonly citing infant massage, massage therapy, vitamin therapy, and botanical products. Analysis revealed that White parents who used CAM for themselves and had children school-age and older were significantly more likely to provide CAM for their child. Chi-square analyses between the responses to selected screening questions and use of CAM were statistically (P =.001) significant but identified only 24% of the parents who used CAM for their children. Discussion: Pediatric nurses should ask parents and children about CAM use in an open manner that promotes discussion. Further refinement of the screening tool is needed. J Pediatr Health Care. (2003). 17, 58-63.

Section snippets

Definition of terms

Complementary implies care that occurs along with traditional health care, whereas alternative suggests therapies that are used instead of traditional therapies (National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2000). For consistency, the terms “complementary and alternative medicine” are used in this article. This is the terminology adopted by the National Institutes of Health, as evidenced by the titling of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). CAM

Background

It has been recommended that inquiries about nontraditional healing practices for both health promotion and health problems be part of every patient history (Armishaw & Grant, 1999; Eisenberg, 1997). This recommendation is based on the findings of numerous studies that have documented the use of CAM by adults (Brown & Marcy, 1991; Eisenberg et al., 1998; Eisenberg et al., 1993; Elder, Gillcrist, & Minz, 1997). A follow-up telephone survey revealed that the use of CAM by adults increased from

Research method & design

For this descriptive study, parents were approached in the waiting rooms of three private pediatric offices located in the metropolitan area of a midwestern city. Parents were recruited for the study if their child was between 1 to 18 years of age. The research was approved by the university's Institutional Review Board and informed consent was obtained from the parents.

Parents were offered a small recruitment incentive consisting of a $5 gift certificate upon completion of the questionnaire.

Data analysis

Data were analyzed using SPSS version 9.0 software. Frequencies were compiled for all variables. Next, the demographic variables were cross-tabulated (contingency tables) with the responses to the CAM practices. Chi-square analyses were performed on the responses to the initial screening questions with the responses to the use of specific CAM therapies obtained in the later questions. The short answer responses to the open-ended questions were reviewed for use of child CAM therapy, and the

Results

The convenience sample of 191 parents reported 440 children who ranged in age from 2 weeks to older than 18 years, with a mean number of 2.4 children per parent respondent. The mean age of the children was 7.1 years, while the median age category of the oldest child in the family was school-age (ages 6-12). More than 93% of the participating parents were female and 80% were White (see Table 1).

. Parent demographic data

Characteristicn%
Gender
 Female17993.7
 Male126.3
Race
 White15380
 African American3317
 

Discussion

These findings demonstrate that health care professionals must ask about the use of CAM practices with more than one question for clarification or confirmation. In this study, several parents responded in the negative to the vitamin screening question, but then responded affirmative to either vitamin use on the checklist or on the open-ended question by indicating that they used vitamin C for their children for “cold” and sore throat care.

In response to the screening question of parental use of

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