Racial Differences in CAM for Common Medical Conditions

描述(由申请人提供)：补充和替代医学(CAM)越来越多地被美国人使用，但对CAM在种族和少数民族以及经济上处于不利地位的个人的应用知之甚少。卫生保健方面的种族和族裔差异是根深蒂固的，而且与不良的健康结果有关。此外，许多常见的医疗问题，如心血管疾病、中风和下肢活动问题，在非洲裔美国人中的患病率高于非西班牙裔美国人。同样，非裔美国人和西班牙裔美国人的糖尿病、肥胖率更高，健康状况也比白人更差。先前的研究表明，非西班牙裔美国白人通常使用CAM治疗常见的医疗条件，并经常与传统医疗护理结合使用。关于CAM用于治疗种族和少数民族常见疾病的模式，人们知之甚少。我们建议使用2002年全国健康访谈调查的数据：1)估计种族/民族和经济弱势群体中个别CAM疗法的使用率和总体CAM使用率；2)确定在常见医疗条件下使用CAM的种族和民族差异；3)检查CAM在多大程度上补充或替代了种族/少数民族和经济弱势个人的传统医疗；4)检查种族/少数民族和经济弱势人群在特定医疗条件下使用CAM的程度，以及相对于总体健康和福祉的使用程度；以及5)按种族/族裔和经济状况检查有监督或无监督(即，不拜访任何CAM从业者)的CAM疗法的使用情况，以及6)检查向医疗专业人员披露的CAM疗法的使用程度。这项研究将对全国少数民族和经济弱势群体使用CAM的比率、使用CAM的原因(如治疗常见疾病和促进整体健康和福祉)以及CAM与传统医疗之间的关系提供重要的见解。这项拟议的研究是更好地了解美国目前的CAM实践的重要的第一步。这些发现将提供对少数民族人群中CAM的基本了解，并将用于计划未来的研究。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasingly used by Americans, but little is known about CAM use in racial and ethnic minorities and economically disadvantaged individuals. Racial and ethnic disparities in health care are well established and are related to poor health outcomes. Moreover, the prevalence of many common medical problems such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, and lower extremity mobility problems is higher among African Americans than non-Hispanic white Americans. Similarly, African Americans and Hispanics have a higher prevalence of diabetes, obesity, and worse health status than their white counterparts. Previous research suggests that CAM is commonly used by non-Hispanic white Americans for the treatment of common medical conditions and that they are often used in combination with conventional medical care. Relatively little is known about patterns of CAM use for treatment of common medical conditions in racial and ethnic minorities. We propose to use data from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey to: 1) estimate the prevalence of use of individual CAM therapies and overall CAM use across racial/ethnic and economically disadvantaged groups; 2) identify racial and ethnic variations in CAM use for common medical conditions; 3) examine the extent to which CAM complements or substitutes for conventional medical care in racial/ethnic minorities and economically disadvantaged individuals; 4) examine the extent to which racial/ethnic minorities and economically disadvantaged persons use CAM for specific medical conditions and relative to use for overall health and well-being; and 5) examine utilization of CAM therapies as supervised or unsupervised (i.e., without any visits to a CAM practitioner) by race/ethnicity and economic status, and 6) examine the extent to which use of CAM therapies is disclosed to medical professionals. This study will provide important insight into national rates of CAM use by racial and ethnic minorities and economically disadvantaged individuals; the reasons for CAM use, such as treatment of common medical conditions and promotion of overall health and well-being, and the relationship between CAM and conventional medical care. The proposed study is an essential first step to better understand current practices of CAM in the US. Findings will provide a fundamental understanding of CAM in minority populations that will be used to plan for future studies.