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Knowledge and Research Center for Alternative Medicine (ViFAB)Knowledge and Research Center for Alternative Medicine (ViFAB)
Knowledge and Research Center for Alternative Medicine (ViFAB).

ViFAB is a center under the Danish Ministry of Health and Prevention.

Paediatric Patients and Alternative Medicine

Here you will find statistics on the use of
alternative medicine among paediatric
patients.

The following figures derive from a survey
conducted in 2002 among  patients of the
Department of Paediatrics, Odense University Hospital, Denmark.

The survey is based on answers from 622 paediatric patients; children aged 0-18 years.

53 percent of the 622 patients had used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) at least once and 23 percent had used CAM within the last month.

There was no correlation between the use of CAM and the patients' gender, age or whether they were hospitalised or out-patients.
 
The most frequent users of CAM were patients with asthma, eczema or allergy as well as patients hospitalised for observation or suffering from gastrointestinal diseases.

The following types of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) were most commonly used by the paediatric patients. The types of CAM were used at least once:

  • Herbal and dietary supplements (33 percent) 
  • Alternative  therapies (23 percent)
  • Chiropractics (12 percent).

15 percent of the patients had used herbal and dietary supplements within the last month, 65 percent of these had used the preparation Bio-Strath and 44 percent had used Echinacea.

7 percent of the patients had used alternative therapies within the last month and 75 percent of these had used reflexology.

The herbal and dietary supplements Bio-Strath and Echinacea were especially used to strengthen the immune system.

More than 50 percent of the patients experienced positive effects from alternative medicine and 6 percent reported side-effects.

The aim of the survey was to characterise the use of complementary and alternative medicine among patients in a paediatric department.

All patients, hospitalised and out-patients, who were in contact with the Department of Paediatrics, Odense University Hospital, for the duration of a two week period in the autumn of 2001, were asked to participate. 

In total, 622 (92 percent) patients participated. The data were collected in an interview-administered questionnaire during a short interview with the patients and their parents.



Last updated 24-08-2010

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