title: Complementary medicine for alcohol dependence in Italian services: a mail questionnaire.
abstract: It is well known that Complementary Medicine (CM) is extensively used in western countries for the treatment of many afflictions. CM has been recently promoted in addiction treatment. To evaluate CM use in alcohol dependence we planned a mail questionnaire for Italian alcohol services. We sent out 612 questionnaires. Health services that were unable to respond to the questionnaire within a 20-day limit period were contacted by phone and if we obtained agreement to participate in the study the questionnaire was sent by fax. We obtained 312 (51.82%) completed questionnaires. Only 16.50% of Italian services use CM for alcohol dependence treatment and acupuncture is utilized more frequently than other methods (phytotherapy, homeopathy, etc.). In Italian alcohol services CM is identified as an instrument incorporated into traditional alcohol treatments (self-help groups, drug treatment, etc.) and not an alternative method. In fact, health services that use it as a principal method of treatment were a rare event in our study (1%). CM plays an integrated role with traditional forms of alcohol treatment in Italian alcohol services and this utilization could be useful to reduce drop-outs and improve alcohol treatment compliance.
authors.affiliation: Centro Diurno Alcologico, UFM C, Azienda Sanitaria Fiorentina, Villa Basilewsky, Via Lorenzo il Magnifico, 104, 50127 Firenze, Italy. gabriele.bardazzi@asf.toscana.it
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bardazzi
authors.forename: Jo-Anne
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Merluzzi
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Voller
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fontana
authors.forename: Ludovico
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Abenavoli
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Leggio
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Addolorato
mesh_terms: D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000517:prevention & control; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006266:Health Education / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires