Malhotra Vibha, Harnett Joanna E, Wong Keith, Saini Bandana
Sydney Pharmacy School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
The Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
J Integr Complement Med. 2025 May;31(5):445-453. doi: 10.1089/jicm.2024.0422. Epub 2025 Jan 10.
Naturopathic practitioners consult an estimated 6.2% of Australian adults, equating to 1,550,000 people receiving their care each year. Sleep is now recognized as a key pillar of health; however, nearly half of all Australian adults report inadequate sleep. Evidence suggests that many Australians consult naturopaths (NPs) for sleep-related problems and use complementary medicines (CMs) to manage these. However, NPs' clinical approach to caring for people living with sleep disorders has not been reported. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe and understand the clinical assessment and treatment approaches used by NPs in their care of people living with sleep disorders. A cross-sectional online survey with a purposively sought sample. NPs were recruited via the practitioner research-based network. The participants received an email invitation containing a link to the survey along with a Participant Information Sheet. The online survey (Research Electronic Data Capture-see Supplementary Data S1) comprised multiple-choice, binary (yes/no) questions, or 5-point Likert scale-type questions structured across four sections related to: clinical assessment of patients, treatments used, interprofessional communication with conventional doctors, and demographics. Sixty-seven complete data sets were analyzed. Most survey participants treated-one to three patients with sleep disorders weekly, being consulted primarily for insomnia (82%) and its treatment (98.5%). Comprehensive sleep health histories were commonly assessed. Additionally, 69% of participants reported that patients sought their services to complement conventional care. The most frequently used complementary medicine (CM) approaches included sleep hygiene counseling (75%) and meditation (64.7%). Vitamins, minerals, herbal medicines, and nutritional supplements were the most recommended CM medicines (92.6%). Referrals to conventional medicine professionals were minimal. Australian NPs are frequently consulted by people living with sleep disorders who are also using conventional medicines. Our study highlights the need for integrated models of health care tailored to patient needs that maximize potential benefits and reduce any harms associated with drug-CMs interactions. The provision of training to the Australian health care workforce of NPs that focuses on evidence-based behavioral treatments can improve access to these treatments for patients.
自然疗法从业者约为6.2%的澳大利亚成年人提供诊疗服务，相当于每年有155万人接受他们的治疗。睡眠如今被视为健康的关键支柱；然而，近一半的澳大利亚成年人表示睡眠不足。有证据表明，许多澳大利亚人因睡眠相关问题咨询自然疗法医生（NP），并使用补充药物（CM）来应对这些问题。然而，自然疗法医生对睡眠障碍患者的临床护理方法尚未见报道。因此，本研究的目的是描述并了解自然疗法医生在护理睡眠障碍患者时所采用的临床评估和治疗方法。一项针对有目的选取样本的横断面在线调查。通过基于从业者研究的网络招募自然疗法医生。参与者收到一封电子邮件邀请，其中包含调查链接以及一份参与者信息表。在线调查（研究电子数据采集——见补充数据S1）包括多项选择题、二元（是/否）问题或5点李克特量表式问题，分为四个部分，涉及：患者的临床评估、使用的治疗方法、与传统医生的跨专业沟通以及人口统计学。分析了67个完整数据集。大多数调查参与者每周治疗一至三名睡眠障碍患者，主要咨询的问题是失眠（82%）及其治疗（98.5%）。通常会进行全面的睡眠健康史评估。此外，69%的参与者报告称患者寻求他们的服务以补充传统护理。最常用的补充药物方法包括睡眠卫生咨询（75%）和冥想（64.7%）。维生素、矿物质、草药和营养补充剂是最常被推荐的补充药物（92.6%）。转介给传统医学专业人员的情况很少。睡眠障碍患者在使用传统药物的同时也经常咨询澳大利亚的自然疗法医生。我们的研究强调需要建立针对患者需求的综合医疗保健模式，以最大限度地提高潜在益处并减少与药物 - 补充药物相互作用相关的任何危害。为澳大利亚自然疗法医生的医疗保健人员提供侧重于循证行为治疗的培训，可以改善患者获得这些治疗的机会。
