Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies
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Focus Alternat Complement Ther©2005 Pharmaceutical Press
Focus Altern Complement Ther 2005; 10: 58–9
Within the framework of the Swiss governmental Program of Evaluation of Complementary Medicine we searched for published surveys, stating the prevalence, use, effectiveness and appreciation of CAM in Switzerland.
The search was performed on electronic databases, by hand-searching and by contacting experts at universities, hospitals, health insurance companies, patients’ organisations and pharmaceutical companies.
We found 24 publications. Representative surveys were performed among the population (40%), physicians (20%), hospitalised patients (30%) and obstetric institutions (5%). The number of publications increased greatly from 1981 to 2004. The mean ± SD prevalence (use) of CAM is 49 ± 22% and varies depending on the survey’s subject and population. Results from four studies show that 40.6 and 35%, respectively, of cancer patients as well as 80 and 84%, respectively, of all patients perceived CAM as an effective treatment for their disease. Forty-five per cent of all physicians considered CAM to be effective. The acceptance, appreciation or desire for CAM was 91 ± 6% among subjects specifically interrogated on CAM. When asked about favoured improvements in health care without referring to CAM, 6.5% of subjects spontaneously mentioned CAM. A majority of the population (52%, 55%) declared they would prefer treatment in a CAM hospital. Eighty-five per cent of the population wished that basic health insurance covered CAM.
Approximately half of the Swiss population use CAM and a large majority appreciate it. CAM treatment is considered to be effective by approximately half of the physicians, by a large majority of CAM users and by around 40% of cancer patients. A majority of the population would prefer treatment in a CAM hospital and for coverage of CAM by basic health insurance.
