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Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in Slovakia: Results of a National Population Survey
Introduction: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)
in Europe has intensely increased in recent decades. To acquire
information about the patterns and trends of CAM use in Slovakia, a
nationwide representative survey was conducted on Slovakian adult
population.
Methods: A nationally representative cross-sectional survey was
administered to the general population of Slovakian residents aged 18
years and over. The respondents were interviewed face-to-face by
professional interviewers. Data were collected during September 2019 as
a part of an omnibus survey on a variety of subjects.
Results: Altogether, 82.4% of the respondents reported either regular
CAM method use or the lifetime prevalence of such use. The most
frequently reported group of methods were biologically based treatments
(78.9%), followed by manipulative and body-based methods (54.4%),
mind-body interventions (31.9%), whole medical systems (18.2%) and
energy therapies (4.2%). Vitamins (71.1%), herbal teas (68.1%),
massages (53.6%), religious healing (20.3%) and special diets (18.8%)
were the five most commonly preferred CAM modalities. It was indicated
that female respondents with higher household income are more likely to
use CAM.
Conclusions: Female gender, higher income and higher education are
significant predictors of CAM use. The study highlights the association
between satisfaction with healthcare systems, health situations, and the
use of CAM.
in Europe has intensely increased in recent decades. To acquire
information about the patterns and trends of CAM use in Slovakia, a
nationwide representative survey was conducted on Slovakian adult
population.
Methods: A nationally representative cross-sectional survey was
administered to the general population of Slovakian residents aged 18
years and over. The respondents were interviewed face-to-face by
professional interviewers. Data were collected during September 2019 as
a part of an omnibus survey on a variety of subjects.
Results: Altogether, 82.4% of the respondents reported either regular
CAM method use or the lifetime prevalence of such use. The most
frequently reported group of methods were biologically based treatments
(78.9%), followed by manipulative and body-based methods (54.4%),
mind-body interventions (31.9%), whole medical systems (18.2%) and
energy therapies (4.2%). Vitamins (71.1%), herbal teas (68.1%),
massages (53.6%), religious healing (20.3%) and special diets (18.8%)
were the five most commonly preferred CAM modalities. It was indicated
that female respondents with higher household income are more likely to
use CAM.
Conclusions: Female gender, higher income and higher education are
significant predictors of CAM use. The study highlights the association
between satisfaction with healthcare systems, health situations, and the
use of CAM.
Funding
This paper was prepared as part of the research project VEGA 1/0333/19: Analysis of Selected Social Contexts of Using Alternative Forms of Health Care in Slovakia.
History
Declaration of conflicts of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.Corresponding author email
soucek.ivan@gmail.comLead author country
- Slovakia
Lead author job role
- Independent researcher
Lead author institution
Matej Bel UniversityHuman Participants
- No
Ethics statement
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee (Research Ethics Committee of Matej Bel University, reference 206) and with the 1964 WMA Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.Comments
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