Pediatricians' attitudes, experience and referral patterns regarding Complementary/Alternative Medicine: a national survey.
BACKGROUND
To assess pediatricians' attitudes toward & practice of Complementary/Alternative Medicine (CAM) including their knowledge, experience, & referral patterns for CAM therapies.


METHODS
An anonymous, self-report, 27-item questionnaire was mailed nationally to fellows of the American Academy of Pediatrics in July 2004.648 of 3500 pediatricians' surveyed responded (18%).


RESULTS
The median age ranged from 46-59 yrs; 52% female, 81% Caucasian, 71% generalists, & 85% trained in the US. Over 96% of pediatricians' responding believed their patients were using CAM. Discussions of CAM use were initiated by the family (70%) & only 37% of pediatricians asked about CAM use as part of routine medical history. Majority (84%) said more CME courses should be offered on CAM and 71% said they would consider referring patients to CAM practitioners. Medical conditions referred for CAM included; chronic problems (headaches, pain management, asthma, backaches) (86%), diseases with no known cure (55.5%) or failure of conventional therapies (56%), behavioral problems (49%), & psychiatric disorders (47%). American born, US medical school graduates, general pediatricians, & pediatricians who ask/talk about CAM were most likely to believe their patients used CAM (P < 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
Pediatricians' have a positive attitude towards CAM. Majority believe that their patients are using CAM, that asking about CAM should be part of routine medical history, would consider referring to a CAM practitioner and want more education on CAM.
Sawni
Anju
A
Department of Adolescent Medicine, Children's Hospital of Michigan, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48201-2119, USA. asawni@med.wayne.edu
Thomas
Ronald
R
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002983:Clinical Competence; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000193:education / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014481:United States