Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A survey of complementary and alternative medicine in Iran

  • Feature Article
  • Published:
Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

To survey the use, capability and satisfaction of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in comparison with conventional medicine in Iran.

Methods

In this national survey, a cross-sectional study was designed, 5,000 people were surveyed to identify predictors of Iranian traditional medicine (ITM) use compared with conventional medicine. Data were collected through a questionnaire that covered three different predictor categories: demographic information, patient’s viewpoint, and patients’ experiences.

Results

Most of the participants preferred government owned hospitals rather than other places. Praying for one’s own health was the most frequent and favorable ITM domain (P=0.017) based on patients’ interests, both in low- (P=0.08) and high-level (P=0.011) educated subjects. Among the participants, 97.8% had previous conventional medicine history due to their chronic diseases

Conclusions

Iranian patients resort to ITM as a choice at the late stage of the disease. Current deficiency in integration of CAM and conventional medicine is in contrast to the increasing demand on patients’ side. Health care organizers should be facilitating the CAM services by tuition of CAM practitioners and supporting eligible CAM centers for diagnosis and treatment of patients.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Arcury TA, Suerken CK, Grzywacz JG, Bell RA, Lang W, Quandt SA. Complementary and alternative medicine use among older adults: ethnic variation. Ethn Dis 2006;16:723–731.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Lewith GT. Complementary and alternative medicine: an educational, attitudinal and research challenge. Med J Aust 2000;172:102–103.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Zollman C, Vickers A. ABC of complementary medicine. Users and practitioners of complementary medicine. BMJ 1999;319:836–838.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Straus SE, Chesney MA. Science and government. Enhanced: in defense of NCCAM. Science 2006;313:303–304.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Eisenberg DM, Davis RB, Ettner SL, Appel S, Wilkey S, Van Rompay M, Kessler RC. Trends in alternative medicine use in the United States, 1990–1997: results of a follow-up national survey. JAMA 1998;280:1569–1575.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Schneider CD, Meek PM, Bell IR. Development and validation of IMAQ: Integrative Medicine Attitude Questionnaire. BMC Med Educ 2003;3:5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Bensoussan A. Complementary medicine—where lies its appeal? Med J Aust 1999;170:247–248.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Visser GJ, Peters L. Alternative medicine and general practitioners in The Netherlands: towards acceptance and integration. Fam Pract 1990;7:227–232.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Bausell RB, Lee WL, Berman BM. Demographic and health-related correlates to visits to complementary and alternative medical providers. Med Care 2001;39:190–196.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Druss BG, Rosenheck RA. Association between use of unconventional therapies and conventional medical services. JAMA 1999;282:651–656.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Mackenzie ER, Taylor L, Bloom BS, Hufford DJ, Johnson JC. Ethnic minority use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM): a national probability survey of CAM utilizers. Altern Ther Health Med 2003;9:50–56.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Oldendick R, Coker AL, Wieland D, Raymond JI, Probst JC, Schell BJ, Stoskopf CH. Population-based survey of complementary and alternative medicine usage, patient satisfaction, and physician involvement. South Carolina Complementary Medicine Program Baseline Research Team. South Med J 2000;93:375–381.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Paramore LC. Use of alternative therapies: estimates from the 1994 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation National Access to Care Survey. J Pain Symptom Manage 1997;13:83–89.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Rafferty AP, McGee HB, Miller CE, Reyes M. Prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine use: state-specific estimates from the 2001 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Am J Public Health 2002;92:1598–1600.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Pirotta MV, Cohen MM, Kotsirilos V, Farish SJ. Complementary therapies: have they become accepted in general practice? Med J Aust 2000;172:105–109.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Astin JA. Why patients use alternative medicine: results of a national study. JAMA 1998;279:1548–1553.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Bell RA, Suerken CK, Grzywacz JG, Lang W, Quandt SA, Arcury TA. CAM use among older adults age 65 or older with hypertension in the United States: general use and disease treatment. J Altern Compl Med 2006;12:903–909.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Bell RA, Suerken CK, Grzywacz JG, Lang W, Quandt SA, Arcury TA. Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults with diabetes in the United States. Altern Ther Health Med 2006;12:16–22.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Vakhidov VV. 1,000th anniversary of the birth of Avicenna. Khirurgiia (Mosk) 1980;110–114.

  20. Shub MB. Avicenna. S Afr Med J 1972;45:675–676.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Sarrafzadeh AS, Sarafian N, von Gladiss A, Unterberg AW, Lanksch WR. Ibn Sina (Avicenna). Historical note. Neurosurg Focus 2001;11:E5.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Mohseni M. Attitude towards modern and traditional medicine in an Iranian community. Soc Sci Med 1979;13A:499–500.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Lindroth C. The Canon medicinae by Avicenna, a work and its times. Sven Med Tidskr 1999;3:103–121.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Larijani B, Zahedi F, Malek-Afzali H. Medical ethics in the Islamic Republic of Iran. East Mediterr Health J 2005;11:1061–1072.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Javadpour N. Avicenna (980–1037). Invest Urol 1968;6:334–335.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Good BJ. The professionalization of medicine in a provincial Iranian town. Health Care Dimen 1976;3:51–65.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Dehesh S. Pre-Islamic medicine in Persia. Middle East J Anaesthesiol 1975;4:377–382.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Broumand B. Where were Avicenna and Rhazes from? Ann Saudi Med 2008;28:470–471.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Broumand B. The contribution of Iranian scientists to world civilization. Arch Iran Med 2006;9:288–290.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Brandenburg D. Alchemy and medicine. Therapeutics in ancient times and in the Islamic Middle Ages (II). Med Monatsschr 1975;29:25–28.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Brandenburg D. Medicine in the Iranian national epic (Shahnama) of Firdausi. Med Monatsschr 1971;25:274–279.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Baker CF. Islamic and Jewish Medicine in the medieval Mediterranean world: the Genizah evidence. J R Soc Med 1996;89:577–580.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Azaizeh H, Saad B, Cooper E, Said O. Traditional Arabic and Islamic medicine, a re-emerging health aid. Evid Based Compl Altern Med 2008

  34. Asefzadeh S, Sameefar F. Traditional healers in the Qazvin region of the Islamic Republic of Iran: a qualitative study. East Med Health J 2001;7:544–550.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Aroua A. Hygiene and prevention in Avicenna. Tunis Med 1980;58:556–561.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Aksoy S, Elmai A. The core concepts of the ‘four principles’ of bioethics as found in Islamic tradition. Med Law 2002;21:211–224.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Aboussouan C. Avicenna, the prestigious scholar of the islamic world. Chir Dent Fr 1970;40:50.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Curlin FA, Rasinski KA, Kaptchuk TJ, Emanuel EJ, Miller FG, Tilburt JC. Religion, clinicians, and the integration of complementary and alternative medicines. J Altern Compl Med 2009;15:987–994.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Downey L, Tyree PT, Lafferty WE. Preventive screening of women who use complementary and alternative medicine providers. J Women Health (Larchmt) 2009;18:1133–1143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Lie D, Boker J. Development and validation of the CAM Health Belief Questionnaire (CHBQ) and CAM use and attitudes amongst medical students. BMC Med Educ 2004;4:2.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Watanabe S, Imanishi J, Satoh M, Ozasa K. Unique place of Kampo (Japanese traditional medicine) in complementary and alternative medicine: a survey of doctors belonging to the regional medical association in Japan. Tohoku J Exp Med 2001;194:55–63.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Hopper I, and Cohen M. Complementary therapies and the medical profession: a study of medical students’ attitudes. Altern Ther Health Med 1998;4:68–73.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Pagano I. Complementary and alternative medicine. Hawaii Med J 2008;67:136–137.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Neldner KH. Complementary and alternative medicine. Dermatol Clin 2000;18:189–193.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Pirotta M, Farish SJ, Kotsirilos V, Cohen MM. Characteristics of Victorian general practitioners who practise complementary therapies. Aust Fam Physician 2002;31:1133–1138.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Lie DA, Boker J. Comparative survey of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) attitudes, use, and information-seeking behaviour among medical students, residents & faculty. BMC Med Educ 2006;6:58.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Nedrow AR, Istvan J, Haas M, Barrett R, Salveson C, Moore G, et al. Implications for education in complementary and alternative medicine: a survey of entry attitudes in students at five health professional schools. J Altern Compl Med 2007;13:381–386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Yamashita H, Tsukayama H, Sugishita C. Popularity of complementary and alternative medicine in Japan: a telephone survey. Compl Ther Med 2002;10:84–93.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Xue CC, Zhang AL, Lin V, Da Costa C, Story DF. Complementary and alternative medicine use in Australia: a national population-based survey. J Altern Compl Med 2007;13:643–650.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Hartel U, Volger E. Use and acceptance of classical natural and alternative medicine in Germany—findings of a representative population-based survey. Forsch Komplementarmed Klass Naturheilkd 2004;11:327–334.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  51. Barnes PM, Bloom B, Nahin RL. Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults and children: United States, 2007. Natl Health Stat Report 2008;1–23.

  52. Hunt KJ, Coelho HF, Wider B, Perry R, Hung SK, Terry R, et al. Complementary and alternative medicine use in England: results from a national survey. Int J Clin Pract 64:1496–1502.

  53. Lewith G, Verhoef M, Koithan M, Zick SM. Developing CAM Research Capacity for Complementary Medicine. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2006;3:283–289.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Rosenbaum ME, Nisly NL, Ferguson KJ, Kligman EW. Academic physicians and complementary and alternative medicine: an institutional survey. Am J Med Qual 2002;17:3–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  55. Zollman C, Vickers A. ABC of complementary medicine: complementary medicine and the doctor. BMJ 1999;319:1558–1561.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  56. Zollman C, Vickers A. ABC of complementary medicine. Complementary medicine and the patient. BMJ 1999;319:1486–1489.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  57. Zollman C, Vickers A. ABC of complementary medicine. Complementary medicine in conventional practice. BMJ 1999;319:901–904.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  58. Engel LW, Straus SE. Development of therapeutics: opportunities within complementary and alternative medicine. Nat Rev Drug Discov 2002;1:229–237.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  59. Gold EB, Bair Y, Zhang G, Utts J, Greendale GA, Upchurch D, et al. Cross-sectional analysis of specific complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use by racial/ethnic group and menopausal status: the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN). Menopause 2007;14:612–623.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  60. Grzywacz JG, Suerken CK, Neiberg RH, Lang W, Bell RA, Quandt SA, et al. Age, ethnicity, and use of complementary and alternative medicine in health self-management. J Health Soc Behav 2007;48:84–98.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  61. Grzywacz JG, Suerken CK, Quandt SA, Bell RA, Lang W, Arcury TA. Older adults’ use of complementary and alternative medicine for mental health: findings from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey. J Altern Compl Med 2006;12:467–473.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  62. Graham RE, Ahn AC, Davis RB, O’Connor BB, Eisenberg DM, Phillips RS. Use of complementary and alternative medical therapies among racial and ethnic minority adults: results from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey. J Natl Med Assoc 2005;97:535–545.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  63. Hunt K, Ernst E. Evidence-based practice in British complementary and alternative medicine: double standards? J Health Serv Res Policy 2009;14:219–223.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Complementary alternative medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Hassan Abolhassani & Mohsen Naseri

  2. Complementary Alternative Medicine Research Group, Student Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Hassan Abolhassani

  3. Research fellow, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Sanam Mahmoudzadeh

Authors
  1. Hassan Abolhassani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mohsen Naseri
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sanam Mahmoudzadeh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hassan Abolhassani.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Abolhassani, H., Naseri, M. & Mahmoudzadeh, S. A survey of complementary and alternative medicine in Iran. Chin. J. Integr. Med. 18, 409–416 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-012-1124-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-012-1124-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation