[Omeo33] Art 1012 - JACM, 2009, 15 (6), 681-684

[Gino Santini]

Reasons for Referrals of Children and Adolescents to Alternative  
Medicine in Southern Israel
Carmit Erez, Haim Reuveni, Tamar Freud, Roni Peleg

Objectives: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)  
has increased over recent years. Little is known about the use of CAM  
by children and adolescents. The study objectives were to characterize  
reasons for referrals and types of therapy for children and  
adolescents who turned to a CAM clinic.
Design: An observational study with prospective collection of data  
through interviews with the parents conducted by the clinic triage  
physician using questionnaires.
Subjects: Parents of children and adolescents who came for treatment  
to a CAM clinic.
Intervention: None.
Outcome measures: The medical reasons for using CAM.
Results: The parents of 86 (55%) of the children who came for CAM in  
the study period, November 2005 to June 2006, participated in the  
study (54 males, 62.8%). The mean patient age was 6.75 years (median,  
4.79). The most common reasons for CAM were immunological and allergy  
problems (30%), infectious diseases (21.4%), and attention deficit and  
concentration disorders (14.6%). The most common treatment modalities  
for children and adolescents were homeopathy (33.7%), reflexology  
(29.7%), and acupuncture (18.8%). Most of the immunological problems  
(58.1%) and the infectious diseases (66.7%) were referred for  
homeopathy, and most of the attention deficit and concentration  
disorders (66.7%) were treated by reflexology. Nonmedical reasons for  
CAM included disappointment with the results of conventional  
treatment; the desire for effective, innocuous, supplemental therapy;  
and previous experience among parents, friends, and family members.
Conclusions: Demand for CAM therapy for children is driven by  
universal factors. CAM can be an adjuvant therapy for children with  
common chronic pediatric problems.

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