Race, Pain, and Beliefs Associated with Interest in Complementary and Alternative Medicine among Inner City Veterans.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the prevalence and determinants of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) interest level among a racially diverse cohort of inner city veterans who receive primary care at the VA Medical Center.


METHODS
Cross-sectional survey study


METHODS
Philadelphia VA Medical Center


METHODS
Primary care patients (n = 258) METHODS: Interest in CAM was measured using a single item question. Patient treatment beliefs were assessed using validated instruments. We evaluated factors associated with patient interest in CAM using a multivariate logistic regression model.


RESULTS
In this sample of 258 inner city primary care VA patients, interest in CAM was high 80% (n = 206). Interest in CAM was strongly associated with African American race [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 2.19, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.05-4.60, P = 0.037], higher levels of education (AOR 4.33, 95% CI 1.80-10.40, P = 0.001), presence of moderate to severe pain (AOR 2.02, 95% CI 1.02-4.78, P = 0.043), and expectations of benefit from CAM use (AOR 1.21, 95% CI 1.06-1.36, P = 0.004).


CONCLUSIONS
CAM approaches have broad appeal within this inner city cohort of veterans, particularly among African Americans, those that experience pain and those that expect greater benefit from CAM. These findings may inform the development of patient-centered integrative pain management for veterans.
Department of Medicine, Christiana Care Health System, Ammon 2E72A, 4755 Ogletown-Stanton Rd, Newark, Delaware, USA.
Jennifer N
JN
Goldstein
Center for Health Equity and Promotion, Philadelphia VA Medical Center, Suite 200, 4100 Chester Ave, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Said A
SA
Ibrahim
University of Illinois College of Medicine, 808 S Wood St, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Eitan S
ES
Frankel
Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, 227 Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Drive, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Jun J
JJ
Mao
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044383:Black People; D015331:Cohort Studies; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000523:psychology*; D059408:Pain Management / Q000379:methods; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010414:Pennsylvania / Q000453:epidemiology; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs; D014505:Urban Population; D014728:Veterans; D055815:Young Adult; D001741:Black or African American
Complementary Medicine; Complementary Therapies; Pain Management; Pain Medicine; Perception