The University of Queensland, School of Pharmacy, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
BMC Complement Altern Med. 2012 Apr 10;12:39. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-12-39.
This study explored consumer perceptions of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and relationships with CAM and conventional medicine practitioners.A problem detection study (PDS) was used. The qualitative component to develop the questionnaire used a CAM consumer focus group to explore conventional and CAM paradigms in healthcare. 32 key issues, seven main themes, informed the questionnaire (the quantitative PDS component - 36 statements explored using five-point Likert scales.)
Of 300 questionnaires distributed (Brisbane, Australia), 83 consumers responded. Results indicated that consumers felt empowered by using CAM and they reported positive relationships with CAM practitioners. The perception was that CAM were used most effectively as long-term therapy (63% agreement), but that conventional medicines would be the best choice for emergency treatment (81% agreement). A majority (65%) reported that doctors appeared uncomfortable about consumers' visits to CAM practitioners. Most consumers (72%) believed that relationships with and between health practitioners could be enhanced by improved communication. It was agreed that information sharing between consumers and healthcare practitioners is important, and reported that "enough" information is shared between CAM practitioners and consumers. Consumers felt comfortable discussing their medicines with pharmacists, general practitioners and CAM practitioners, but felt most comfortable with their CAM practitioners.
This PDS has emphasized the perceived importance of open communication between consumers, CAM and conventional providers, and has exposed areas where CAM consumers perceive that issues exist across the CAM and conventional medicine paradigms. There is a lot of information which is perceived as not being shared at present and there are issues of discomfort and distrust which require resolution to develop concordant relationships in healthcare. Further research should be based on optimisation of information sharing, spanning both conventional and CAM fields of healthcare, due to both the relevance of concordance principles within CAM modalities and the widespread use of CAM by consumers.
本研究探讨了消费者对补充和替代医学（CAM）的看法，以及与 CAM 和传统医学从业者的关系。采用问题发现研究（PDS）。开发问卷的定性部分使用了 CAM 消费者焦点小组，以探索医疗保健中的传统和 CAM 模式。32 个关键问题，7 个主要主题，为问卷提供了信息（定量 PDS 部分 - 36 个陈述使用五点李克特量表进行了探索）。
在分发的 300 份问卷中（澳大利亚布里斯班），有 83 名消费者做出了回应。结果表明，消费者使用 CAM 感到有力量，他们报告与 CAM 从业者的关系积极。消费者认为 CAM 作为长期治疗最有效（63%的人同意），但传统药物是治疗紧急情况的最佳选择（81%的人同意）。大多数（65%）的人报告说医生对消费者访问 CAM 从业者感到不舒服。大多数消费者（72%）认为通过改善沟通可以增强健康从业者之间的关系。人们一致认为，消费者与医疗保健从业者之间的信息共享很重要，并报告说 CAM 从业者和消费者之间共享了“足够”的信息。消费者与药剂师、全科医生和 CAM 从业者讨论他们的药物时感到舒适，但与他们的 CAM 从业者相处最舒适。
本 PDS 强调了消费者、CAM 和传统提供者之间开放沟通的重要性，并揭示了 CAM 消费者认为在 CAM 和传统医学模式中存在问题的领域。有很多信息目前没有被共享，存在不适和不信任的问题，需要解决以在医疗保健中建立一致的关系。由于 CAM 模式中的一致性原则以及消费者广泛使用 CAM，进一步的研究应该基于优化信息共享，涵盖传统和 CAM 医疗保健领域。
