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The Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Among Refugees: A Systematic Review.
- Source :
- Journal of Immigrant & Minority Health; Jun2011, Vol. 13 Issue 3, p585-599, 15p
- Publication Year :
- 2011
-
Abstract
- Little is known about the use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) among refugees, despite the common practice of CAM in many non-Western countries. We performed a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature using nine electronic databases. We included articles pertaining to refugees and CAM (whole medical systems, mind body medicine, herbal remedies, manipulative therapies, energy medicine). Qualitative and quantitative data were compiled and analyzed through descriptive statistics and chi square distribution tables. We reviewed 237 abstracts, and 47 publications met our inclusion criteria. Twenty-six papers documented whole medical systems; 11 mind-body medicine; 5 biologically based practices; 4 manipulative and body-based therapies; and 1 study documented the use of energy medicine. There were 3 clinical trials, 20 surveys, 12 case reports, 2 participant-observer qualitative papers, and 10 review papers. Most studies focused on Asian refugee populations (66%; n = 31). Mental problems related to trauma accounted for 36% of CAM use (17). Among included articles, methodological quality was extremely low. Our results show evidence that type of CAM used by refugees may vary based on ethnicity, yet this is most likely due to a bias in the medical literature. Efforts are needed to further explore these results and expand research within this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- TREATMENT of post-traumatic stress disorder
ALTERNATIVE medicine
ANALYSIS of variance
ASIANS
CHI-squared test
CINAHL database
ETHNIC groups
MEDICAL information storage & retrieval systems
PSYCHOLOGY information storage & retrieval systems
BOTANIC medicine
MEDLINE
ONLINE information services
REFUGEES
RESEARCH funding
TORTURE victims
TRADITIONAL medicine
SYSTEMATIC reviews
QUALITATIVE research
QUANTITATIVE research
INTEGRATIVE medicine
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 15571912
- Volume :
- 13
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Journal of Immigrant & Minority Health
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 104893387
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-010-9318-8