However, public debates as well as the scientific literature suggest the need to revisit the terms and definitions used to refer to CAM practitioners, therapies, and products that have framed research and practice to date [ 1- 6].
The first relates to home remedies, which was re-tested for the 2007 questionnaire as a practitioner-based therapy, with the goal of capturing visits to complementary medicine practitioners in minority and ethnic populations.
Twenty-seven percent used any relaxation techniques, and 28% used any practitioner delivered therapy.
The interventions included combinations of different practitioners and therapies that were deemed appropriate to the condition being treated.
If used, an umbrella term should be used only when referring to a group or practitioners or therapies, which is usually uncommon in the context of such a therapeutic relationship.
However, when faced with one or more health needs, individuals who used only alternative medicine were more likely to use practitioner-based therapies, especially manipulative and body based therapies.
Of the six categories, only practitioner-based therapies and manipulative and body-based therapies showed a significant difference between healthy individuals and those with one or more health needs.
While 27.0% of those with one or more health needs used practitioner-based therapies, only 20.1% of healthy individuals used these therapies (p <.01).
Among recent CAM users, 13.6% (± 0.8%) used practitioner based therapies, 66.9% (± 1.1%) used non-practitioner based therapies, and 19.5% (± 0.9%) used both practitioner and non-practitioner based therapies; 69.4% (± 1.1%) reported that CAM use was somewhat or very important to maintaining their health.
Most studies included only practitioner based therapies, others viewed CAM in terms of the behaviour.
