Attitudes, patterns of recommendation, and communication of pediatric providers about complementary and alternative medicine in a large metropolitan children's hospital.
The authors conducted an e-mail survey of their medical staff to explore the attitudes, patterns of recommendation, and communication of pediatric providers about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in a large metropolitan children's hospital. Two thirds of the respondents reported awareness about their patients' CAM therapy use (65%) and recommended CAM therapy to their patients (67%). Providers who reported personal use of CAM (71%) were more likely to recommend CAM to their patients compared with those who do not (76% vs 45%; P < .05). One half of pediatric providers reported occasional consultation with their patient's CAM provider, but bidirectional communication was rare (4%). Specific changes in care based on a CAM provider's recommendations were also unusual (4%). Despite the positive attitudes about and willingness to recommend CAM by pediatric providers, communication between these clinicians and CAM providers may be less than ideal.
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Seattle Children’s Hospital, 4800 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105, USA. anjana.kundu@seattlechildrens.org
Anjana
A
Kundu
Rosalie F
RF
Tassone
Nathalia
N
Jimenez
Kristy
K
Seidel
Jessica K
JK
Valentine
Paul S
PS
Pagel
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002648:Child; D003142:Communication; D000529:Complementary Therapies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006786:Hospitals, Urban; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010372:Pediatrics; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011364:Professional Practice; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014861:Washington