Objective: To evaluate the patient reported effects of homeopathic care 6 months after
first consultations.
Methods: Prospective uncontrolled observational multicentre outcome study. All patients
visiting 80 homeopaths all over Norway for the first time in eight different time
periods from 1996 to 1998 were approached. Patients wrote down their main complaint
and scored its impact on daily living on a 100 mm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) at the
first consultation. Six months later they were asked to score again. The homeopaths
recorded treatments given for up to two follow-up consultations.
Main outcome measure: Predefined as a reduction of at least 10 mm in the VAS score
between the first consultation and follow-up.
Result: Patients 1097 were recruited, 654 completed the follow-up questionnaire. The
main complaint improved by at least 10 mm on the VAS for 71% (95% confidence interval
67–74%) of patients. The average reduction was 32 mm (95% CI 30–35 mm). Fifty-one
per cent (95% CI 48–55%) of the patients had an improvement in their general well
being of more than 10 mm. The mean reduction in the whole group was 14 mm (95% CI
12–16 mm). The proportion of patients using conventional medication reduced from 39%
to 16%. Regression analysis showed that lower age and higher baseline score were predictors
of better outcome.
Conclusion: In this study, seven out of ten patients visiting a Norwegian homeopath
reported a meaningful improvement in their main complaint 6 months after the initial
consultation.
Keywords
homeopathy - Norway - effectiveness - everyday treatment - outcome study
