Studies on use of Alternative Therapies

To identify current and additional studies use a bibliographic database such as PubMed. For additional bibliographic databases go to the Database page.

  • Anderson W, OConnor BB, Macgregor RR, Schwartz JS. Patient use and assessment of conventional and alternative therapies for HIV infection and AIDS. AIDS 1993;7:561-5.
  • Astin, JA.Why patients use alternative medicine: results of a national study. JAMA 1998; 279: 1548-1553 .
  • Barnes PM, Powell-Griner E, McFann K, Nahin RL. Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults: United States 2002. Advance Data from Vital and Health Statistics 2004 May 27;343:1-20.
  • Brigden ML. Unorthodox therapy and your cancer patient. Postgraduate Medicine 1987;81:271-80.
  • Burg MA. Women's use of complementary medicine. Combining mainstream medicine with alternative practices. Journal of teh Florida Medical Association 1996;83:482-8.
  • Cassileth BR. The social implications of questionable cancer therapies. Cancer 1989;63:1247-50.
  • Cassileth BR, Lusk EJ, Strouse TB, Bodenheimer BJ. Contemporary unorthodox treatments in cancer medicine. Annals of Internal Medicine 1984;101:105-12.
  • Cherkin DC, MacCornack FA. Patient evaluations of low back pain care from physicians and chiropractors. Western Journal of Medicine 1989;150:351-5.
  • Cleary PD. Chiropractic use: a test of several hypotheses. American Journal of Public Health 1982;72:727-30.
  • Clinical Oncology Group. New Zealand cancer patients and alternative medicine. New Zealand Journal of Medicine 1987;100:110-3.
  • Cohen CJ, Eisenberg DM, Mayer KH, Delbanco TL. Prevalence of non-conventional medical treatments in HIV-infected patients: implications for primary care. Clinical Research 1990;38:692A abstract.
  • Committee on the Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine by the American Public. Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States. Board on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (HPDP) Institute of Medicine (IOM) 2005.
  • Cook C, Baisden D. Ancillary use of folk medicine by patients in primary care clinics in southwestern West Virginia. Southern Medical Journal 1986;79:1098-101.
  • Cronan TA, Kaplan RM, Posner L, Blumberg E, Kozin F. Prevalence of the use of unconventional remedies for arthritis in a metropolitan community. Arthritis and Rheumatism 1989;32:1604-7.
  • BMJ [British Medical Journal]: Complementary Medicine articles
  • Eisenberg DM. Advising patients who seek alternative medical therapies. Annals of Internal Medicine 1997;127:61-69.
  • Eisenberg DM, Davis RB, Ettner SL, Appel S, Wilkey S, Van Rompay M, Kessler RC. Trends in alternative medicine use in the United States, 1990-1997. JAMA: the Journal of the American Medical Association 1998;280:1569-1575.
  • Eisenberg DM,Kessler RC, Foster C, Norlock FE, Calkins DR, Delbanco TL. Unconventional medicine in the United States: prevelance, costs, and patterns of use. New England Journal of Medicine 1993;328:246-52.
  • Harris and Associates. Health, information and the use of questionable treatments: a study of the American public. Washington, D.C. Department of Health and Human Services, 1987.
  • Hogan DB, Ebly EM. Complementary medicine use in a dementia clinic population. Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders 1996 Summer;10(2):63-7.
  • Kronenfeld JJ, Wasner C. The use of unorthodox therapies and marginal practitioners. Social Science and Medicine 1982;16:1119-25.
  • McGuire MB. Ritual healing in suburban America. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1988.
  • Pearl WS, Leo P, Tsang WO. Use of Chinese therapies among Chinese patients seeking emergency department care. Annals of Emergency Medicine 1995;26:735-8.
  • Singh N, Squier C, Sivek C, Nguyen MH, Wagener M, Yu VL. Determinants of nontraditional therapy use in patients with HIV infection. A prospective study. Archives of Internal Medicine 1996;156:197-201.
  • Smart HL, Mayberry JF, Atkinson M. Alternative medicine consultation and remedies in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Gut 1986;27:826-8.
  • Snyder P. The use of nonprescribed treatments by hemodialysis patients. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry 1983;7:57-76.
  • Talbot M. The Placebo Prescription "A sugar pill for the mildly depressed. Sham surgery for a bum knee. A hand to hold for the flu-stricken. Placebos aren't real medicine, but they can often help patients heal. So why not exploit their power?" New York Times Magazine January 9, 2000
  • U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. Unconventional cancer treatments. Washington, D.C. Government Printing Office, 1990 (OTA-H-405).
  • Verhoef MJ, Sutherland LR, Brkich L. Use of alternative medicine by patients attending a gastroenterology clinic. Canadian Medical Association Journal 1990;142:121-5.
  • Yager J, Landsverk J, Edelstein CK. Help seeking and satisfaction with care in 641 women with eating disorders. I. Patterns of utilization, attributed change, and perceived efficacy of treatment. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 1989;177:632-7.

Revision: January 2008.


For additions or comments please respond to "The Alternative Medicine Homepage" ©1994-2008. Charles B. Wessel, M.L.S., cbw@pitt.edu - Falk Library of the Health Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261


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