21st February 2007

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EMBARGO, 00.01 WEDS 21 FEBRUARY 2007:  The popularity of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is growing, according to findings released at a seminar today.
 
Professor Suzanne McDonough of the University of Ulster (pictured)  says 29% of people interviewed had received some form of CAM over the previous 12 months, with a very wide range of therapies being used.  
 
Filling a yawning information gap about the extent of use of  therapies such as reflexology, acupuncture and herbal medicines, the Northern Ireland 2005 Life and Times Survey interviewed 1,200 people and found that CAM use was more common in the 35-44 and 45-54 year age bands, and used more by females (56%) than by males (36% ).  
 
“Compared to previous surveys in the UK there is an increasing use of CAM, with over 75% still being provided outside the National Health Service, indicating that the general population is willing to pay for these treatments,” Professor McDonough says.
 
However, a recent government initiative in Northern Ireland may make it easier  - and cheaper - to access CAM through the National Health Service.
 
The survey reported that the most-used therapies, in order, were aromatherapy, reflexology, massage therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic, herbal medicine and relaxation.
 Usage ranged from just over 14% for aromatherapy to 9% relaxation.  CAM may involve self-treatment or a practitioner.  Of practitioner-treatments, reflexology was most commonly used.
 
Professor McDonough, who will give details of the survey at an ARK seminar at the offices of the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action today ( Wednesday Feb 21), says the results provide a valuable backdrop to a current NI Office initiative  under which CAM will be offered to patients through GPs and Health Boards.

“This initiative is being driven by evidence which suggests that integrated medicine -- that is, medicine in which conventional and CAM approaches are combined -- is more cost-effective than conventional medicine alone, plus demand both from the public and conventional medicine healthcare practitioners to have greater access to CAM services in the NHS. However, until recently no figures for CAM use in Northern Ireland have been available.

Among the key findings are:

·      Only one fifth of respondents had told their GP that they were receiving treatment, yet nearly two thirds of CAM therapies were used to treat a health problem.  

·      Acupuncture, chiropractic and herbal medicine were chosen most often for a health reason whereas aromatherapy and reflexology were more commonly used for wellness and relaxation.  

·      Common health problems were musculoskeletal, stress, women’s health and mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.

·      Most respondents paid for their treatments, although more received acupuncture and relaxation techniques as part of NHS care than any other form of CAM.  

·      74% of respondents who had received acupuncture thought it was definitely or probably very helpful; the least confidence was shown in aromatherapy in that 17% said it was probably or definitely not helpful.  


* It was notable that the numbers of adverse events recorded were very low.   

Professor McDonough added: “Five of the top six therapies (acupuncture, chiropractic, aromatherapy, massage and reflexology) from this survey will be provided in the new NI government initiative. The other therapies to be provided by this initiative - osteopathy and homeopathy - were used to a much smaller degree; less than 5% of respondents had ever used these therapies.   No doubt this initiative will improve access and reduce costs to the individual of providing these therapies.”

The aim of  ARK – the Northern Ireland Social and Political Archive - is to make social and political information on Northern Ireland available to the widest possible audience.  ARK is a joint initiative between Queen’s University Belfast and University of Ulster.  More information on ARK can be found at www.ark.ac.uk <http://www.ark.ac.uk/> .

For further information, please contact:

Press Office, Department of Communication and Development
Tel: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk