Variation in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use across racial/ethnic groups and the development of ethnic-specific measures of CAM use.
OBJECTIVE
The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is likely to vary among racial/ethnic groups because its use is related to cultural and health beliefs. Understanding patterns of CAM use among ethnic groups could inform clinical practice and the study of CAM use in a diverse population. The authors compared CAM use among Asian-Americans, American Indians, African Americans, Latinos, whites, and other racial/ethnic groups in order to develop ethnic-specific measures of CAM use and explore factors associated with such CAM use across ethnic groups.


METHODS
A cross-sectional survey of a sample of 9187 adults representative of the California population was performed.


METHODS
Ethnic-specific constructs for Asian-Americans, American Indians, African Americans, Latinos, and whites were devised.


RESULTS
The authors identified ethnic-specific CAM modalities for each ethnic group. Demographic and clinical factors associated with use of ethnic-specific CAM differed from the predictors of overall CAM use in the general population and varied by ethnicity.


CONCLUSIONS
Patterns of CAM use and ethnic-specific CAM use vary across racial/ethnic groups. Evaluation of CAM use in ethnically diverse populations should recognize ethnic-specific modalities and variation across ethnicity.
Hsiao
An-Fu
AF
UCI Center for Health Policy Research, Irvine, CA 92697-5800, USA. Anfu.hsaio@med.va.gov
Wong
Mitchell D
MD
Goldstein
Michael S
MS
Yu
Hong-Jian
HJ
Andersen
Ronald M
RM
Brown
E Richard
ER
Becerra
Lida M
LM
Wenger
Neil S
NS
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001213:Asian / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data