Complementary and alternative medical therapy use among Chinese and Vietnamese Americans: prevalence, associated factors, and effects of patient-clinician communication.
OBJECTIVE
We examined the use of complementary and alternative medical (CAM) therapies among Chinese and Vietnamese Americans who had limited proficiency with the English language and explore the association between patient-clinician discussions about CAM therapy use and patient assessments of quality of care.


METHODS
We surveyed Chinese and Vietnamese Americans who visited 11 community health centers in 8 major cities throughout the United States.


RESULTS
Of the 4410 patients surveyed, 3258 (74%) returned completed questionnaires. Two thirds of respondents reported they had "ever used" some form of CAM therapy; however, only 7.6% of these patients had discussed their use of CAM therapies with clinicians. Among patients who had used CAM therapies during the week before their most recent visits, clinician-patient discussions about CAM therapy use were associated with better overall patient ratings of quality of care.


CONCLUSIONS
Use of CAM therapies was common among Chinese and Vietnamese Americans who had limited proficiency with the English language. Although discussions about CAM therapy use with clinicians were uncommon, these discussions were associated with better ratings of quality of care.
Ahn
Andrew C
AC
Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies, Harvard Medical School, 401 Park Dr, Ste 22A-West, Boston, MA 02215, USA. aahn@hms.harvard.edu
Ngo-Metzger
Quyen
Q
Legedza
Anna T R
AT
Massagli
Michael P
MP
Clarridge
Brian R
BR
Phillips
Russell S
RS
D001213:Asian / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States; D014744:Vietnam / Q000208:ethnology