Relationship between nonprescribed therapy use for illness prevention and health promotion and health-related quality of life.
OBJECTIVE
This study describes the nonprescribed therapy use (prayer, over-the-counter medications [OTC's], home remedies, vitamins, herbs and supplements, and exercise) for health promotion among rural elders. It also delineates the association of such therapy use with physical and mental health-related quality of life (HRQoL).


METHODS
The sample (N = 200) consisted of African American and White elders from south-central North Carolina. Participants completed baseline interviews and repeated measures of nonprescribed therapy use over a 6-month follow-up.


RESULTS
Prayer had the highest percentage (80.7%) of use for health promotion followed by OTC (54.3%); vitamins only (49.3%); herbs and supplements (40.5%); exercise (31.9%); and home remedies (5.2%). Exercise was significantly associated with better physical HRQoL (p < .05). However, elders who used nonprescribed therapies had poorer mental HRQoL than nonusers, adjusting for potential confounders.


CONCLUSIONS
This analysis suggests that use of some nonprescribed therapies for health promotion is associated with poorer mental HRQoL.
Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
Kathryn P
KP
Altizer
Ha T
HT
Nguyen
Rebecca H
RH
Neiberg
Sara A
SA
Quandt
Joseph G
JG
Grzywacz
Wei
W
Lang
Ronny A
RA
Bell
Thomas A
TA
Arcury
D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004194:Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods; D006293:Health Promotion; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008519:Medicine, Traditional / Q000379:methods; D008603:Mental Health; D004366:Nonprescription Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009657:North Carolina; D011788:Quality of Life; D012067:Religion; D012107:Research Design; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D013022:South Carolina; D014815:Vitamins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology
D004366:Nonprescription Drugs; D014815:Vitamins
health-related quality of life (HRQoL); nonprescribed therapy use