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Table 5 Types of CAM Therapies Used by Individuals Using Only Alternative Medicine in the Past 12 Months: NHIS, 2002 (weighted)

From: Health need and the use of alternative medicine among adults who do not use conventional medicine

   

Alternative Medicine Domains

 

Practitioner-based Therapies1

Self-Care Therapies2

Alternative Medical

Systems3

Biologically-based Therapies4

Mind-body Therapies5

Manipulative and Body-based Therapies6

All individuals who use only alternative medicine

23.6%

90.0%

7.2%

68.5%

41.0%

21.8%

Individuals with one or more health needs 7

      

   Yes

27.0%

88.7%

7.7%

69.2%

41.2%

24.2%

   No

20.1

91.3

6.7

67.9

40.8

19.2

   Chi-square p-value 8

<.01

.1613

.5566

.6552

.9135

<.05

  1. 1 Practitioner-based therapies include acupuncture; Ayurveda; biofeedback; chelation therapy; chiropractic care; energy healing therapy/Reiki; folk medicine; hypnosis; massage; and naturopathy.
  2. 2 Self-care therapies include nonvitamin, nonmineral, natural products; homeopathic treatment; diet-based therapies; high dose/megavitamin therapy; yoga; tai chi; qi gong; meditation; guided imagery; progressive relaxation; and deep breathing exercises.
  3. 3 Alternative medical systems include acupuncture; Ayurveda; homeopathic treatment; and naturopathy.
  4. 4 Biologically-based therapies include chelation therapy; folk medicine; nonvitamin, nonmineral, natural products; high dose/megavitamin therapy; and diet-based therapies.
  5. 5 Mind-body therapies include biofeedback; meditation; guided imagery; progressive relaxation; deep breathing exercises; hypnosis; yoga; tai chi; and qi gong.
  6. 6 Manipulative and body-based therapies include chiropractic care and massage.
  7. 7 Adults with one or more health needs were defined as those who had one or more of the following: poor or fair health; health is worse off than it was 12 months ago; one or more serious chronic or acute conditions (see definition in Table 1); a functional limitation (see definition in Table 1); and/or back problems.
  8. 8 Chi-square analyses were used to test differences in CAM use between those with and without health needs