title: General practitioners' beliefs about the clinical utility of complementary and alternative medicine.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate GPs' beliefs about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and its role in clinical practice.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Despite the prevalence of CAM in the United Kingdom, little is known about GPs beliefs regarding these alternative approaches to patient management and how they view it in relation to their clinical conduct and practice.
  
  
  METHODS
  A qualitative study conducted on 19 GPs recruited from the North West of England. Semi-structured telephone interviews were analysed using an inductive thematic analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Three themes emerged from the data: limited evidence base, patient demand and concerns over regulation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite recognising the limited evidence base of CAM, GPs continue to see a role for it within clinical practice. This is not necessarily led by patient demand that is highly related to affluence. However, GPs raised concerns over the regulation of CAM practitioners and CAM therapies.
authors.affiliation: 1School of Psychological Sciences,Centre for Health Psychology,University of Manchester,UK.
authors.forename: Aron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jarvis
authors.affiliation: 2Research Assistant,Biomedical Research Unit,University of Bristol,UK.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.affiliation: 3The School of Psychological Science,The Manchester Centre for Health Psychology,UK.
authors.forename: Debbie
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: 4Research Associate,School of Social and Community Medicine,University of Bristol,UK.
authors.forename: Rohini
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Terry
authors.affiliation: 5Senior Lecturer,School of Psychological Sciences,Centre for Health Psychology,University of Manchester,UK.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Peters
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000592:standards*; D004739:England; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice / Q000592:standards*; D058005:General Practitioners / Q000523:psychology* / Q000592:standards; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D041743:Herb-Drug Interactions; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D064406:Patient Harm / Q000517:prevention & control*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000592:standards; D012923:Social Class
keywords: beliefs; complementary/alternative medicine; general practitioner; qualitative