Murthy Vijayendra, Sibbritt David, Adams Jon, Broom Alex, Kirby Emma, Refshauge Kathryn M
Faculty of Health, University of Technology, UTS, Level 7, Building 10, 235-253 Jones Street, Ultimo, NSW, 2006, Sydney, Australia.
Clin Rheumatol. 2014 Feb;33(2):253-62. doi: 10.1007/s10067-013-2357-5. Epub 2013 Aug 15.
Back pain is a significant health service issue in Australia and internationally. Back pain sufferers can draw upon a range of health care providers including complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners. Women are higher users of health services than men and tend to use CAM frequently for musculoskeletal conditions. However, there remain important gaps in our understanding of women's consultation patterns with CAM practitioners for back pain. The objective of this study is to examine the prevalence of use and characteristics of women who use CAM practitioners for back pain. The method used was a survey of a nationally representative sample of women aged 60-65 years from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Women consulted a massage therapist (44.1 %, n = 578) and a chiropractor (37.3 %, n = 488) more than other CAM practitioners for their back pain. Consultations with a chiropractor for back pain were lower for women who consulted a General Practitioner (GP) (OR, 0.56; 95 % CI 0.41, 0.76) or a physiotherapist (OR, 0.53; 95 % CI 0.39, 0.72) than for those who did not consult a GP or a physiotherapist. CAM practitioner consultations for back pain were greater for women who visited a pharmacist (OR, 1.99; 95 % CI 1.23, 3.32) than for women who did not visit a pharmacist. There is substantial use of CAM practitioners alongside conventional practitioners amongst women for back pain, and there is a need to provide detailed examination of the communication between patients and their providers as well as across the diverse range of health professionals involved in back pain care.
背痛在澳大利亚乃至国际上都是一个重大的医疗服务问题。背痛患者可以求助于一系列医疗保健提供者，包括补充和替代医学（CAM）从业者。女性比男性更多地使用医疗服务，并且在肌肉骨骼疾病方面倾向于频繁使用补充和替代医学。然而，我们对女性因背痛咨询补充和替代医学从业者的模式的理解仍存在重大差距。本研究的目的是调查因背痛使用补充和替代医学从业者的女性的使用率和特征。所采用的方法是对来自澳大利亚妇女健康纵向研究的60 - 65岁具有全国代表性的女性样本进行调查。与其他补充和替代医学从业者相比，女性因背痛咨询按摩治疗师（44.1%，n = 578）和脊椎按摩师（37.3%，n = 488）的比例更高。与全科医生（GP）（比值比，0.56；95%置信区间0.41，0.76）或物理治疗师（比值比，0.53；95%置信区间0.39，0.72）咨询过的女性相比，因背痛咨询脊椎按摩师的比例低于未咨询过全科医生或物理治疗师的女性。与未拜访药剂师的女性相比，拜访过药剂师的女性因背痛咨询补充和替代医学从业者的比例更高（比值比，1.99；95%置信区间1.23，3.32）。在女性中，补充和替代医学从业者与传统从业者一起大量用于背痛治疗，并且需要详细研究患者与其提供者之间以及参与背痛护理的各种健康专业人员之间的沟通情况。
