Homeopathy 2006; 95(02): 81-87
DOI: 10.1016/j.homp.2005.12.001
Original Paper
Copyright © The Faculty of Homeopathy 2006

Opinions and self-reported health status of Italians seeking homeopathic treatment

R. Pomposelli
,
C. Andreoni
,
G. Costini
,
B. Dedor
,
I. Mariani
,
M. Castellini
,
G.M. Tomaioli
,
E. Tonini

Subject Editor:
Further Information

Publication History

Received23 May 2005
revised08 August 2005

accepted12 December 2005

Publication Date:
29 December 2017 (online)

Abstract

The use of homeopathy is increasing worldwide. This multi-centre cross-sectional study aims to describe the opinions and self-reported health status of a sample of Italian people seeking homeopathic care. A self-administered questionnaire including socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge and opinions about homeopathy, personal experience with homeopathy, and, self-reported health status (SF-12), was administered to a sample of people who had sought homeopathy.

Of a possible 1229 individuals invited to participate, 1223 did so. The majority of the participants were female, young (mean age 42 years), well educated (mean 13 years of education). The reason for seeking care was for either physical or emotional conditions. Most participants had fair to good knowledge of homeopathy, and the self-experienced effect (subjective judgment on efficacy) was good regardless of the type of health condition reported. The Physical Component Summary (PCS-12) scores were similar to the general Italian population, but the Mental Component Summary (MCS-12) scores were lower in all relevant strata examined.

This study provides information on the characteristics of people seeking homeopathic care, in particular the results of the SF-12 self-reported health status evaluation.

 
  • References

  • 1 Zollman C., Vickers A. ABC of complementary medicine: what is complementary medicine. BMJ 1999; 319: 693-696.
  • 2 Vickers A., Zollman C. Homeopathy. BMJ 1999; 319: 1115-1118.
  • 3 Mathie R.T. The research evidence base for homeopathy: a fresh assessment of the literature. Homeopathy 2003; 92: 84-91.
  • 4 Koretz R.L., Rotblatt M. Complementary and alternative medicine in gastroenterology: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2004; 2: 957-967.
  • 5 Muscari-Tomaioli G., Allegri F., Miali E. et al. Observational study of quality of life in patients with headache, receiving homeopathic treatment. Br Homeopath J 2001; 90: 189-197.
  • 6 Shang A. et al. Are the clinical effects of homeopathy placebo effects? Comparative study of placebo-controlled trials of homeopathy and allopathy. Lancet 2005; 366: 726-732.
  • 7 Eisenberg D.M., Kessler R.C., Foster C., Norlock F.E., Calkins D.R., Delbanco T.L. Unconventional medicine in the Unites States—prevalence, costs, and patterns of use. N Engl J Med 1993; 328: 246-252.
  • 8 Ernst E. Prevalence of use of complementary/alternative medicine: a systematic review. Bull W H O 2000; 78: 252-257.
  • 9 Singh V., Raidoo D.M., Harries C.S. The prevalence, patterns of usage and people's attitude towards complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among the Indian community in Chatsworth, South Africa. BMC Complem Altern Med 2004; 4: 1-7.
  • 10 Harris P., Rees R. The prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine use among the general population: a systematic review of the literature. Complem Ther Med 2000; 8: 88-96.
  • 11 Launso L., Rieper J. General practitioners and classical homeopaths treatment models for asthma and allergy. Homeopathy 2005; 94: 17-25.
  • 12 Van Wassenhoven M., Ives G. An observational study of patients receiving homeopathic treatment. Homeopathy 2004; 93: 3-11.
  • 13 Doxa, Statistical Research and public opinions analysis. National Survey on Homeopathy. 2005.
  • 14 ISTAT. Le condizioni di salute della popolazione. Indagine Multiscopo sulle famiglie. Condizioni di salute e ricorso ai servizi sanitari. 1999–2000.
  • 15 Giannelli M., Cuttini M., Arniani S., Baldi P., Buratti E. Complementary/alternative medicine in Tuscany: attitudes and use among the general population. Epidemiol Prev 2004; 28: 27-33.
  • 16 www.belladonna.it (access 28 October 2005).
  • 17 www.omeopatia.org (access 9 November 2005).
  • 18 Ware J.E., Kosinski M., Keller S.D. A 12-item short form health survey. Construction of scales and preliminary tests of reliability and validity. Med Care 1996; 34: 220-233.
  • 19 Bullinger M., Alonso J., Apolone G. et al. Translating health status questionnaires and evaluating their quality: the International Quality of Life Assessment Project approach. J Clin Epidemiol 1998; 51: 913-924.
  • 20 Apolone G., Mosconi P. The Italian SF-36 health survey: translation, validation and norming from a clinical epidemiology perspective. J Clin Epidemiol 1998; 51: 1025-1036.
  • 21 Gandek B., Ware J.E., Aaronson N.K. et al. Cross-validation of items selection and scoring for the SF-12 Health Survey in 9 countries: results from the IQOLA project. J Clin Epidemiol 1998; 51: 1171-1178.
  • 22 Kodraliu G., Mosconi P., Groth N. et al. on the behalf of the MiOS group. Subjective health status assessment: evaluation of the Italian version of the SF-12 health Survey. Results from the MiOS Project. J Epidemiol Biostat 2001; 6: 305-316.
  • 23 Apolone G, Mosconi P, Quattrociocchi L, Gianicolo EAL, Groth N, Ware JE Jr. Questionario sullo stato di salute SF-12. Versione Italiana. Guerini e Associati Editore, Milano, 2001.
  • 24 Coen J. Statistical Power Analyses for the Behavioural Sciences, 2nd ed. New Jersey, US: Hillday, 1988.
  • 25 Mosconi P., Giolo A., Poli P., Apolone G. Do health consumers and citizens differ on attitude toward clinical research? Results from two surveys in Italy. J Prev Med Hyg 2003; 44: 88-94.
  • 26 George J., Ioannides-Demos L.L., Santamaria N.M., Kong D.C.M., Stewart K. Use of complementary and alternative medicines by patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. MJA 2004; 181: 248-251.
  • 27 Sirois F.M., Gick M.L. An investigation of the health beliefs and motivations of complementary medicine clients. Soc Sci Med 2002; 55: 1025-1037.