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A truly complementary approach: A qualitative exploration of complementary and alternative medicine practitioners' views of treating ankylosing spondylitis
Author(s) -
Family Hannah,
Jordan Abbie,
Blaxall Kelly,
Sengupta Raj
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
musculoskeletal care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.628
H-Index - 28
eISSN - 1557-0681
pISSN - 1478-2189
DOI - 10.1002/msc.1217
Subject(s) - medicine , mainstream , thematic analysis , alternative medicine , ankylosing spondylitis , qualitative research , health care , family medicine , nursing , surgery , pathology , social science , philosophy , theology , sociology , economics , economic growth
Objective Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory rheumatic disease in which individuals experience a long delay to diagnosis. Prior to diagnosis, individuals report frequent use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies. While popularly used, there is a dearth of knowledge concerning the experiences of CAM practitioners in terms of treating individuals with AS. Addressing this knowledge gap, the present study provides a detailed exploration of how UK‐based CAM practitioners treat individuals with AS. Methods Semi‐structured telephone interviews were conducted with eight UK‐based CAM practitioners, (four males), aged 45–69 years. CAM practitioners were recruited across a range of CAM therapies and years of CAM practice experience (8–46 years). Results Thematic analysis resulted in the identification of three themes to characterize the data. Themes comprised: (i) the whole picture; (ii) alarm bells; and (iii) a common language. Themes highlighted CAM practitioner adoption of a holistic, yet individualized approach to treating individuals with AS, despite a general sense of lack of knowledge concerning AS among CAM practitioners. Notably, results indicated a desire of CAM practitioners to work more collaboratively with mainstream health providers to provide more joined‐up care for individuals with AS. Conclusion CAM practitioners emphasized the benefits of CAM to focus on providing effective symptom management when used in conjunction, rather than in opposition to, mainstream healthcare. Adoption of a more holistic approach to AS management by CAM practitioners may empower clients to become more aware of symptoms, thus potentially reducing delays in receiving a formal diagnosis of AS.