Nexus - 1706 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page Content (OCR)

Switzerland Italy A Swiss government-sponsored survey evaluated According to a 2004 survey, 7.5 million Italians use patient satisfaction and side effects in primary care and omeopathic medicines—2.5 million more than in a also compared homeopathic treatment and 2000 survey. Approximately 14% of Italian women and conventional medical treatment. 0% of men prefer homeopathic medicine to A total of 3,126 adult patients responded to a conventional medicine, and 9.6% of children between questionnaire, 1,363 of whom received conventional hree and five years of age are treated with homeopathic medical treatment and 1,702 of whom received medicines. Almost 90% of Italians who have used such homeopathic treatment. medicines say that these treatments helped them, with This survey found that a higher percentage of the 30% saying that they used homeopathic medicines for homeopathics patients had chronic and severe pain syndromes and 24% for severe or chronic diseases. conditions than did the conventional medical patients, A 2005 survey on the use of CAM among cancer that homeopathics patients were more often patients in Europe reported that 73% of the Italian "completely satisfied" with their treatment (53% vs 43%), | cancer patients had used CAM, a number well above the that homeopathic patients experienced significantly | European average of 36%. The most popular treatment fewer side effects (7.3% vs 16.1%), and that the modalities used by cancer patients in Italy were high proportion of patients reporting complete resolution of | use of homeopathy, herbal medicine and spiritual symptoms was non-significantly higher in the herapies.” A 2008 survey in Tuscany, Italy, found that conventional medical patients he incidence of CAM use after (28% vs 21%). cancer diagnosis was 17%, with What is particularly importan . he most widely used forms about this survey is the This survey found that a being herbal medicine (52%), observation that homeopathic higher percentage of the omeopathy 00%) and patients a a igher Q 9 acupuncture (13%). Use was percentage of seriously il homeopathics patients igher in the urban area and patients, but they expressed a had chronic and severe among women, breast cancer muc igher amount o oe Q patients and persons with a satisfaction with their treatmen conditions than did the igher education.” han the patients who received conventional... A survey of Italian children conventional medica with cancer who were being reatment. treated at a conventiona This survey also confirmed a paediatric oncology unit found common observation about people who seek that 12.4% of the children used at least one type o omeopathic treatment: that they are much more CAM, with homeopathy being the most popular; 83% o' educated than those who don't (32.4% vs 24.7% received __ the parents reported benefits in their children, including "higher education").” improved immune defences, regression of diplopia and The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health issued a improved blood values.” This study confirmed the report to the government of Switzerland which observation of many other surveys which found tha concluded that "the effectiveness of homeopathy canbe —_ users of CAM tended to be more educated than those supported by clinical evidence, and professional and who did not use CAM.**® adequate application [can] be regarded as safe".*! Five hundred and fifty-two patients who had In Switzerland, different surveys have suggested tha inflammatory bowel disease and who were under somewhere between 11% and 27% of genera treatment at an Italian tertiary medical referral centre practitioners and internists prescribe homeopathic completed a questionnaire; 156 (28%) reported using medicines. complementary and alternative therapies, which mainly Other European countries in which homeopathy hasa involved homeopathy (43.6%) followed by controlled relatively strong presence include Italy, where 9% o diets or dietary supplements (35.5%), herbs (28.2%), medical doctors sometimes prescribe homeopathic _ exercise (25.6%) and prayer (14.7%). Improvements in remedies; and The Netherlands, where 45% o well-being (45.5%) and inflammatory bowel disease physicians consider homeopathic medicines effective | symptoms (40.3%) were the most commonly reported and 47% of medical doctors use one or more benefits. A higher education, a more frequently complementary therapies, with homeopathy being the _ relapsing disease and dissatisfaction with the doctor's most popular (40% among these select doctors).” communication correlated with complementary and The prevalence of CAM use in a sample of Swiss alternative therapy use. Non-compliance with patients undergoing kidney transplant was 11.8%. The conventional drugs, disease severity and curiosity most frequently used alternative therapy among these regarding novel therapies were predictors o was homeopathy (42.9%).” complementary and alternative therapy use.“' higher percentage of the homeopathics patients had chronic and severe NEXUS ¢ 27 This survey found that a conditions than did the conventional... OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2010 www.nexusmagazine.com