Reasons for referrals of children and adolescents to alternative medicine in southern Israel.
OBJECTIVE
The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has increased over recent years. Little is known about the use of CAM by children and adolescents. The study objectives were to characterize reasons for referrals and types of therapy for children and adolescents who turned to a CAM clinic.


METHODS
An observational study with prospective collection of data through interviews with the parents conducted by the clinic triage physician using questionnaires.


METHODS
Parents of children and adolescents who came for treatment to a CAM clinic.


METHODS
None.


METHODS
The medical reasons for using CAM.


RESULTS
The parents of 86 (55%) of the children who came for CAM in the study period, November 2005 to June 2006, participated in the study (54 males, 62.8%). The mean patient age was 6.75 years (median, 4.79). The most common reasons for CAM were immunological and allergy problems (30%), infectious diseases (21.4%), and attention deficit and concentration disorders (14.6%). The most common treatment modalities for children and adolescents were homeopathy (33.7%), reflexology (29.7%), and acupuncture (18.8%). Most of the immunological problems (58.1%) and the infectious diseases (66.7%) were referred for homeopathy, and most of the attention deficit and concentration disorders (66.7%) were treated by reflexology. Nonmedical reasons for CAM included disappointment with the results of conventional treatment; the desire for effective, innocuous, supplemental therapy; and previous experience among parents, friends, and family members.


CONCLUSIONS
Demand for CAM therapy for children is driven by universal factors. CAM can be an adjuvant therapy for children with common chronic pediatric problems.
Erez
Carmit
C
Soroka Medical Center, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Reuveni
Haim
H
Freud
Tamar
T
Peleg
Roni
R
D015670:Acupuncture Therapy; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006705:Homeopathy; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000628:therapy; D007154:Immune System Diseases / Q000628:therapy; D007223:Infant; D007239:Infections / Q000628:therapy; D007557:Israel; D008297:Male; D008405:Massage; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D010290:Parents; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors