View article

Background Many people use unconventional therapies for health problems, but the extent of this use and the costs are not known. We conducted a national survey to determine the prevalence, costs, and patterns of use of unconventional therapies, such as acupuncture and chiropractic. Methods We limited the therapies studied to 16 commonly used interventions neither taught widely in US medical schools nor generally available in US hospitals. We completed telephone interviews with 1539 adults (response rate, 67 percent) in a national sample of adults 18 years of age or older in 1990. We asked respondents to report any serious or bothersome medical conditions and details of their use of conventional medical services; we then inquired about their use of unconventional therapy. Results One in three respondents (34 percent) reported using at least one unconventional therapy in the past year, and a third of …