Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies
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Focus Alternat Complement Ther©2005 Pharmaceutical Press
Focus Altern Complement Ther 2004; 9: 49–50
This was a qualitative study investigating decision-making and experiences relating to CM use for asthma from the perspective of a range of patients and professionals. Based on this study, this presentation aims to highlight some key issues concerning the involvement of children and young people in research on CAM use.
In the study 50–60 in-depth interviews were conducted with patients with asthma, health professionals and complementary therapists. A particular feature of this study is the inclusion of children and young people as research participants alongside adults. Children aged 7 years and upwards were interviewed about their views and experiences of asthma and CM, with a range of visual prompts to encourage their engagement. Their parents were also interviewed separately.
Experiences of interviewing children and young people for this study reveal that they have important views and experiences relating to health and CAM use that need to be voiced in research. While adults and children may share certain discourses, they may also give different accounts of health, illness and treatment (both orthodox and complementary) and may have varying experiences that would be missed by interviewing adults alone. In terms of methods, experiences of interviewing children reinforce a central tenet of qualitative research – the need for flexibility in both content and process.
Children’s views remain under-represented in health research generally, and in CAM research specifically. Involving children and young people in research presents challenges, but has benefits that outweigh the reliance on parents’ views as a proxy.
This study was conducted as part of a post-doctoral research fellowship funded by the Department of Health.
