Dataset Information

Complementary and Alternative Medicines Used by Middle-Aged to Older Taiwanese Adults to Cope with Stress during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

ABSTRACT:

Background

This study aimed to investigate the factors influencing the use of complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) to manage stress during the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was administered to community-dwelling adults between the ages of 46 and 75 years, and a total of 351 participants completed the questionnaire. Log-binominal regression analyses were fitted to explore the factors associated with the use of CAMs.

Results

The mean age of the participants was 57.0 years, and 67.0% reported that they had used CAMs within the past three months. Middle-aged adults were more likely to use CAMs than late middle-aged adults and older adults (p < 0.001). Overall, the major CAMs utilized to relieve psychological stress were music therapies (37.6%), massage (31.1%), spinal manipulation (25.1%), relaxing therapies (24.2%), and reading scriptures or The Bible (23.9%). Religion and vegetarian diets were the most important factors influencing participants to use CAMs, especially music therapies, massage, and reading scriptures/The Bible.

Conclusions

CAM use was very prevalent among middle-aged adults in Taiwan; in particular, music therapies were the most favored activities for reducing stress. Population-specific mental health interventions using music can be developed to improve stress management outcomes during public health emergencies.

SUBMITTER: Liu YY

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9690493 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Complementary and Alternative Medicines Used by Middle-Aged to Older Taiwanese Adults to Cope with Stress during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

Liu Yo-Yu YY Yeh Yueh-Chiao YC

Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) 20221110 11

Background: This study aimed to investigate the factors influencing the use of complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) to manage stress during the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was administered to community-dwelling adults between the ages of 46 and 75 years, and a total of 351 participants completed the questionnaire. Log-binominal regression analyses were fitted to explore the factors associated with the use of CAMs. Results: The mean age of the particip ...[more]

PMID: 36360594

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Project description:BackgroundIntegrative and complementary health approaches (ICHA) are often pursued by patients facing chronic illnesses. Most of the studies that investigated the factors associated with ICHA consumption have considered that the propensity to use ICHA is a stable or fixed characteristic of an individual. However, people may prefer using ICHA in some situations and not in others, depending on the characteristics of the illness to face. Moreover, the attitude toward ICHA may differ within a single individual and between individuals so that ICHA can be used either in addition to (i.e., complementary attitude) or in place of (i.e., alternative attitude). The present study aimed at examining distinct patterns of attitudes toward ICHA in people hypothetically facing chronic illnesses that differed according to severity and clinical expression.MethodsWe conducted a web-based study including 1807 participants who were asked to imagine that they had a particular chronic illness based on clinical vignettes (mental illnesses: depression, schizophrenia; somatic illnesses: rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis). Participants were invited to rate their perceived distress and social stigma associated with each illness as well as its perceived treatability. They also rated their belief in treatment effectiveness, and their treatment preference. Four patterns of treatment choice were determined: strictly conventional, weak or strong complementary, and alternative. Bayesian methods were used for statistical analyses.ResultsICHA were selected as complementary treatment option by more than 95% of people who hypothetically faced chronic illness. The complementary attitude towards ICHA (in addition to conventional treatment) was more frequent than the alternative one (in place of conventional treatment). Factors driving this preference included employment status, severity of illness, age and perceived distress, social stigma and treatability of the illness. When the label of illnesses was included in the vignettes, patterns of treatment preference were altered.ConclusionsThis study provides evidence that "medical pluralism" (i.e., the integration of ICHA with conventional treatment) is likely the norm for people facing both mental or somatic illness. However, our result must be interpreted with caution due to the virtual nature of this study. We suggest that taking attitudes toward ICHA into account is crucial for a better understanding of patients' motivation to use ICHA.

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Dataset Information

Complementary and Alternative Medicines Used by Middle-Aged to Older Taiwanese Adults to Cope with Stress during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Complementary and Alternative Medicines Used by Middle-Aged to Older Taiwanese Adults to Cope with Stress during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

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