Premium
Physician and patient use of and attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine in the treatment of infertility
Author(s) -
Clark Natalie A.,
Will Matthew A.,
Moravek Molly B.,
Xu Xiao,
Fisseha Senait
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
international journal of gynecology and obstetrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.895
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1879-3479
pISSN - 0020-7292
DOI - 10.1016/j.ijgo.2013.03.034
Subject(s) - medicine , infertility , subspecialty , confidence interval , family medicine , alternative medicine , reproductive medicine , fertility , gynecology , reproductive endocrinology and infertility , obstetrics , pregnancy , population , genetics , environmental health , pathology , biology
Objective To determine use of and attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among infertility patients and subspecialty physicians. Methods Infertility patients were asked to complete anonymous written surveys at an academic infertility practice; members of the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility were electronically surveyed. Both groups were assessed regarding their use of and attitudes toward CAM. Results The response rate was 32.1% (115/358) among patients and 22.6% (225/995) among physicians ( P < 0.05). In total, 105 (91.3%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 85.8–96.2) patients used CAM, and 84 (73.0%; 95% CI, 64.9–81.1) regarded it as beneficial to their fertility treatment. However, only 30 (26.1%; 95% CI, 18.0–34.0) patients reported CAM use to physicians, with the most common reason being that they were “never asked.” Overall, 202 (89.8%; 95% CI, 85.9–93.8) physicians reported inquiring about CAM. Conclusion Significant discrepancies exist between subfertile patients and physicians in attitudes toward the use of CAM. The current prevalence of CAM use among infertility patients requires greater physician attention and justifies further study on the risks and benefits of integrating CAM into the biomedical treatment of infertility.