Complementary medicine practices in a community-based sample of lesbian and heterosexual women.
While researchers have examined the established the foundation for understanding the correlates of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among some medical populations, less is known about the correlates of CAM use in nonclinical samples of women, and particularly according to sexual orientation. Information on CAM modalities was collected as part of a survey of lesbian and heterosexual women's health. Eighty-two percent of the sample reported CAM use. Predictors of CAM use included a lesbian sexual orientation, less health-related worry, and perceived discrimination in health care settings. Additional research is warranted to better understand how sexual orientation relates to use of CAM. Future studies should also examine the relationships between and experiences with discrimination in traditional medical settings and increased use of complementary and alternative medicine.
Matthews
Alicia K
AK
University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60612, USA. Aliciak@uic.edu
Hughes
Tonda L
TL
Osterman
Gail Pinales
GP
Kodl
Molly M
MM
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002641:Chicago / Q000453:epidemiology; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D020010:Heterosexuality / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018452:Homosexuality, Female / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D008910:Minnesota / Q000453:epidemiology; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016387:Women's Health