The use of complementary and alternative medicine in an Irish cohort of people with an iatrogenic hepatitis C infection: results from a health and lifestyle survey

Utilization and prescription patterns of traditional Chinese medicine for patients with hepatitis C in Taiwan: a population-based study

BACKGROUND

To characterize the utilization of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) among patients with hepatitis C (HC).

METHODS

This study examined datasets from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan. One cohort, including one million patients randomly sampled from the beneficiaries of the National Health Insurance Programme from January 1 to December 31 in 2010, was chosen for this analysis. People who had at least three outpatient or inpatient records and had been diagnosed with hepatitis C virus infection from 2000 to 2010 were defined as patients with HC. Patients with HC who had at least one TCM outpatient clinical record from 2000 to 2010 were defined as TCM users (N = 5,691), whereas patients with no TCM outpatient records were defined as non-TCM users (N = 2,876). The demographic data, treatment modalities and disease distributions of TCM users were analysed.

RESULTS

Overall, 66.4 % of the patients with HC had used TCM from 2000 to 2010. Of the TCM users, 54.1 % were female. The utilization rate of TCM increased with age and peaked in the age group of those 40 - 64 years old. Herbal remedies (52.4 %) were the most commonly used agents, followed by combination therapy (46.4 %) and acupuncture alone (1.2 %). Patients who had more extrahepatic diseases and were taking more antiviral agents tended to visit TCM clinics. Jia-Wei-Xiao-Yao-San and Dan-Shen (Salvia miltiorrhiza) were the most commonly used formula and single herb, with 88,124 person-days and 59,252 person-days, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Our nationwide population-based study revealed a high prevalence and specific usage patterns of TCM in patients with HC in Taiwan.

From Disappointment to Holistic Ideals: A Qualitative Study on Motives and Experiences of Using Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Sweden

Background

Recent studies indicate increased use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in western societies, to ameliorate health problems. Even if there is substantial research on general patterns of use, there is limited knowledge on individual motives. This study contributes to a qualitative understanding of experiences of choosing and using CAM.

Design and methods

This study consists of in-depth interviews with 10 CAM users in Sweden. The participants represent different backgrounds and experiences of using CAM. The interviews have been analysed in accordance with content analysis.

Results

In analysing experiences of choosing and using CAM four main themes were identified: frustration and critique, values and ideology, individual responsibility, and combining treatments. In general, the participants were highly reflexive on issues concerning their health. They highlighted their own role and responsibility, combined a variety of treatments, and continuously dealt with questions on risks, even if they had relatively different approaches to if and when to use CAM. The results also show that motives may change over time. Even if initial choices were closely related to frustration and critique of conventional treatments (for example, by perceiving conventional health care as limited, not receiving proper diagnoses, or being critical to conventional drugs) was long-term use motivated by ideological characteristics of CAM (such as holistic and individualized treatments, and extensive interaction with practitioners).

Conclusions

Four main themes, concerning experiences of choosing and using CAM were identified. This study also supports the idea that initial motives for choosing CAM may differ from those explaining long-term use.