Metrics details. Complementary and alternative medicine CAM is defined as a group of diverse medical and healthcare practices outside of conventional medicine modalities.
The use of CAM is steadily increasing despite gaps in the scientific evidence supporting its use and the challenges of its regulation and integration into conventional healthcare practices. In this context, perceptions concerning CAM become important. Interviews were conducted to the point of data saturation and audio recordings were transcribed verbatim.
Researchers collaboratively developed a codebook and used NVivo 12 to analyze transcripts. New codes were added as required. Key themes were identified by both researchers individually and then discussed and evaluated together.
Participants were mostly female, white, and affiliated with UHM. Perceptions were categorized as positive, negative, and neutral. The majority of participants had positive perceptions of CAM with few reporting negative perceptions. Negative perceptions were attributed to the lack of scientific evidence and ineffective outcomes of CAM use. Neutral perceptions of CAM related to its safety and natural characteristics. Use of CAM is on the rise despite CAM lacking robust empirical evidence demonstrating efficacy across various medical conditions.
With insufficient data and understanding of current medical literature, CAM users place themselves at risk for harmful herb-herb and herb-drug interactions. These findings have implications for healthcare providers of both conventional medicine and CAM traditions. Peer Review reports. The NCCIH defines CAM to be a group of diverse medical and healthcare practices and products that are not presently part of conventional medicine [ 1 ].
