Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The STEP trials

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Published in: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health 5/2019

01-10-2019 | Review Paper

A Systematic Review of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Amongst Ethnic Minority Populations: A Focus Upon Prevalence, Drivers, Integrative Use, Health Outcomes, Referrals and Use of Information Sources

Authors: Josephine C. Agu, Yun Hee-Jeon, Amie Steel, Jon Adams

Published in: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health | Issue 5/2019

Login to get access

Abstract

Ethnic minority populations have been identified as high users of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine (TCAM). This paper reports the systematic review of TCAM use amongst ethnic minorities. A comprehensive literature search was conducted in Ovid, PubMed and CINAHL. Included studies were original, peer-reviewed, English language articles with the primary focus on TCAM use amongst ethnic minority populations. A total of 17 articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in the systematic review. A considerable level of TCAM use was observed amongst ethnic minority populations usually attributed to its perceived safe and natural properties. Ethnic minority populations predominantly used TCAM concurrently with conventional medicine and primary TCAM referral sources were family and friends. A substantial level of TCAM integration with conventional medicine is common practice amongst these populations and the lack of disclosure about TCAM use raises an important area for further research inquiry.
Literature
1.
Barnes PM, Bloom B, Nahin RL. Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults and children: United States, 2007. US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Hyattsville: Hyattsville; 2008.
2.
Woerdenbag HJE, Jamu KO. Indonesian traditional herbal medicine towards rational phytopharmacological use. J Herb Med. 2014;4(2):51–73.CrossRef
3.
Robinson N, Blair M, Lorenc A, Gully N, Fox P, Mitchell K. Complementary medicine use in multi-ethnic paediatric outpatients. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2008;14(1):17–24.CrossRefPubMed
4.
Broom A, Wijewardena K, Sibbritt D, Adams J, Nayar KR. The use of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine in Sri Lankan cancer care: results from a survey of 500 cancer patients. Public Health. 2010;124(4):232–7.CrossRefPubMed
5.
Assion HJ, Zarouchas I, Multamaki S, Zolotova J, Schroder SG. Patients’ use of alternative methods parallel to psychiatric therapy: does the migrational background matter? Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2007;116(3):220–5.CrossRefPubMed
6.
Hwang JH, Han DW, Yoo EK, Kim W-Y. The utilisation of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among ethnic minorities in South Korea. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2014;14:103-.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
7.
Shelley BM, Sussman AL, Williams RL, Segal AR, Crabtree BF.’They don’t ask me so I don’t tell them’: patient-clinician communication about traditional, complementary, and alternative medicine. Ann Family Med. 2009;7(2):139–47.CrossRef
8.
Roth MA, Kobayashi KM. The use of complementary and alternative medicine among Chinese Canadians: results from a national survey. J Immigr Minor Health. 2008;10(6):517–28.CrossRefPubMed
9.
Elewonibi BR, BeLue R. Prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine in immigrants. J Immigr Minor Health. 2016;18(3):600–7.CrossRefPubMed
10.
Tanaka MJ, Gryzlak BM, Zimmerman MB, Nisly NL, Wallace RB. Patterns of natural herb use by Asian and Pacific Islanders. Ethn Health. 2008;13(2):93–108.CrossRefPubMed
11.
Avogo W, Frimpong JA, Rivers PA, Kim SS. The effects of health status on the utilization of complementary and alternative medicine. Health Educ J. 2008;67(4):258–75.CrossRef
12.
13.
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(4):50.PubMed
14.
Wardle J, Lui CW, Adams J. Complementary and alternative medicine in rural communities: current research and future directions. J Rural Health. 2012;28(1):101–12.CrossRefPubMed
15.
Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. PLoS Med. 2009;6(7):e1000097.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
16.
Higginbotham N, Albrecht G, Connor L. Health social science: a transdisciplinary and complexity perspective| NOVA. The University of Newcastle’s Digital Repository. 2001.
17.
Law M, Steinwender S, Leclair L. Occupation, health and well-being. Can J Occup Ther. 1998;65(2):81–91.CrossRef
18.
Wells C, Kolt GS, Marshall P, Hill B, Bialocerkowski A. The effectiveness of pilates exercise in people with chronic low back pain: a systematic review. PloS ONE. 2014;9(7):e100402.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
19.
George M, Birck K, Hufford DJ, Jemmott LS, Weaver TE. Beliefs about asthma and complementary and alternative medicine in low-income inner-city African-American adults. J Gen Intern Med. 2006;21(12):1317–24.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
20.
Rao D. Choice of medicine and hierarchy of resort to different health alternatives among Asian Indian migrants in a metropolitan city in the USA. Ethn Health. 2006;11(2):153–67.CrossRefPubMed
21.
González-Vázquez T, Pelcastre-Villafuerte BE, Taboada A. Surviving the distance: the transnational utilization of traditional medicine among Oaxacan migrants in the US. J Immigr Minor Health. 2016;18(5):1190–8.CrossRefPubMed
22.
Yearwood EL. Child health care decision making and experiences of Caribbean women. J Pediatr Health Care. 2007;21(2):89–98.CrossRefPubMed
23.
Thomas F, Aggleton P, Anderson J. ‘Experts’, ‘partners’ and ‘fools’: exploring agency in HIV treatment seeking among African migrants in London. Soc Sci Med. 2010;70(5):736–43.CrossRefPubMed
24.
Thorburn S, Faith J, Keon KL, Tippens KM. Discrimination in health care and CAM use in a representative sample of US adults. J Altern Complement Med. 2013;19(6):577–81.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
25.
Meghani SH, Cho E. Self-reported pain and utilization of pain treatment between minorities and nonminorities in the United States. Public Health Nurs. 2009;26(4):307–16.CrossRefPubMed
26.
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.
27.
Gardiner P, Sadikova E, Filippelli AC, Mitchell S, White LF, Saper R, et al. Stress management and relaxation techniques use among underserved inpatients in an inner city hospital. Complement Ther Med. 2015;23(3):405–12.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
28.
Othman CN, Farooqui M. Traditional and complementary medicine. Proc Soc Behav Sci. 2015;170:262–71.CrossRef
29.
Arcury TA, Sandberg JC, Mora DC, Talton JW, Quandt SA. North Carolina Latino farmworkers’ use of traditional healers: a pilot study. J Agromed. 2016;21(3):253–8.CrossRef
30.
Harrison JK, Reid J, Quinn TJ, Shenkin SD. Using quality assessment tools to critically appraise ageing research: a guide for clinicians. Age Ageing. 2017;46(3):359–65.CrossRefPubMed
31.
Demark-Wahnefried W, Bowen DJ, Jabson JM, Paskett ED. Scientific bias arising from sampling, selective recruitment, and attrition: the case for improved reporting. Cancer Epidemiol Prev Biomark. 2011;20(3):415–8.CrossRef
32.
Fleming ML, Parker E. Introduction to public health. Australia: Elsevier; 2014.
33.
Hwang JH, Han DW, Yoo EK, Kim W-Y. The utilisation of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among ethnic minorities in South Korea. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2014;14(1):1–9.CrossRef
34.
Reid R, Steel A, Wardle J, Trubody A, Adams J. Complementary medicine use by the Australian population: a critical mixed studies systematic review of utilisation, perceptions and factors associated with use. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2016;16(1):176.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
35.
Bishop FL, Lewith G. Who uses CAM? A narrative review of demographic characteristics and health factors associated with CAM use. Evid-Based Complement Altern Med. 2010;7(1):11–28.CrossRef
36.
Laiyemo MA, Nunlee-Bland G, Adams RG, Laiyemo AO, Lombardo FA. Characteristics and health perceptions of complementary and alternative medicine users in the United States. Am J Med Sci. 2015;349(2):140–4.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
37.
Chao MT, Wade CM. Socioeconomic factors and women’s use of complementary and alternative medicine in four racial/ethnic groups. Ethn Dis. 2008;18(1):65.PubMed
38.
Hsiao A-F, Wong MD, Goldstein MS, Yu H-J, Andersen RM, Brown ER, et al. Variation in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use across racial/ethnic groups and the development of ethnic-specific measures of CAM use. J Altern Complement Med. 2006;12(3):281–90.CrossRefPubMed
39.
Upchurch DM, Rainisch BKW. Racial and ethnic profiles of complementary and alternative medicine use among young adults in the United States findings from the national longitudinal study of adolescent health. J Evid-Based Complement Altern Med. 2012;17(3):172–9.CrossRef
40.
Rhee TG, Evans RL, McAlpine DD, Johnson PJ. Racial/ethnic differences in the use of complementary and alternative medicine in US adults with moderate mental distress results from the 2012 national health interview survey. J Prim Care Community Health. 2016;8:43.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
41.
Bishop FL, Lewith GT. Who Uses CAM? A narrative review of demographic characteristics and health factors associated with CAM use. Evid-Based Complement Altern Med: eCAM. 2010;7(1):11–28.CrossRef
42.
Upchurch DM, Wexler Rainisch BK. Racial and ethnic profiles of complementary and alternative medicine use among young adults in the United States: findings from the national longitudinal study of adolescent health. J Evid-Based Complement Altern Med. 2012;17(3):172–9.CrossRef
43.
Cui Y, Hargreaves MK, Shu X-O, Liu J, Kenerson DM, Signorello LB, et al. Prevalence and correlates of complementary and alternative medicine services use in low-income African Americans and whites: a report from the Southern Community Cohort Study. J Altern Complement Med. 2012;18(9):844–9.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
44.
Ho DV, Nguyen J, Liu MA, Nguyen AL, Kilgore DB. Use of and interests in complementary and alternative medicine by Hispanic patients of a community health center. J Am Board Family Med. 2015;28(2):175–83.CrossRef
45.
Abou-Rizk J, Alameddine M, Naja F. Prevalence and characteristics of CAM use among people living with HIV and AIDS in Lebanon: implications for patient care. Evid-Based Complement Altern Med. 2016;2016:5013132.CrossRef
46.
Thomson P, Jones J, Evans JM, Leslie SL. Factors influencing the use of complementary and alternative medicine and whether patients inform their primary care physician. Complement Ther Med. 2012;20(1–2):45–53.CrossRefPubMed
47.
Chang HY, Wallis M, Tiralongo E. Use of complementary and alternative medicine among people with type 2 diabetes in Taiwan: a cross-sectional survey. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2011;2011:983792.PubMed
48.
Chang H-Y, Chang H-L, Siren B. Exploring the decision to disclose the use of natural products among outpatients: a mixed-method study. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2013;13:319.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
49.
Jou J, Johnson PJ. Nondisclosure of complementary and alternative medicine use to primary care physicians: findings from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey. JAMA Intern Med. 2016;176(4):545–6.CrossRefPubMed
50.
Hsiao A-F, Wong MD, Goldstein MS, Yu H-J, Andersen RM, Brown ER, et al. Variation in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use across racial/ethnic groups and the development of ethnic-specific measures of CAM use. J Altern Complement Med. 2006;12:281.CrossRefPubMed
51.
Tan G, Craine MH, Bair MJ, Garcia MK. Efficacy of selected complementary and alternative medicine interventions for chronic pain. J Rehabil Res Dev. 2007;44(2):195.CrossRefPubMed
52.
Bardia A, Barton DL, Prokop LJ, Bauer BA, Moynihan TJ. Efficacy of complementary and alternative medicine therapies in relieving cancer pain: a systematic review. J Clin Oncol. 2006;24(34):5457–64.CrossRefPubMed
53.
Rubinstein SM, van Middelkoop M, Kuijpers T, Ostelo R, Verhagen AP, de Boer MR, et al. A systematic review on the effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine for chronic non-specific low-back pain. Eur Spine J. 2010;19(8):1213–28.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
54.
Haake M, Muller HH, Schade-Brittinger C, Basler HD, Schafer H, Maier C, et al. German acupuncture trials (GERAC) for chronic low back pain: randomized, multicenter, blinded, parallel-group trial with 3 groups. Arch Intern Med. 2007;167(17):1892–8.CrossRefPubMed
55.
Kutch M. Cost-effectiveness analysis of complementary and alternative medicine in treating anxiety disorders. Altern Integr Med. 2016;5(218):2.
56.
Ramsay C. Unnatural regulation: complementary and alternative medicine policy in Canada. Vancouver: The Fraser Institute; 2009.
57.
Barner JC, Bohman TM, Brown CM, Richards KM. Use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for treatment among African-Americans: a multivariate analysis. Res Soc Adm Pharm. 2010;6(3):196–208.CrossRef
Metadata
Title
A Systematic Review of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Amongst Ethnic Minority Populations: A Focus Upon Prevalence, Drivers, Integrative Use, Health Outcomes, Referrals and Use of Information Sources
Authors
Josephine C. Agu
Yun Hee-Jeon
Amie Steel
Jon Adams
Publication date
01-10-2019
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health / Issue 5/2019
Print ISSN: 1557-1912
Electronic ISSN: 1557-1920
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-018-0832-4

Other articles of this Issue 5/2019

Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health 5/2019 Go to the issue

Correction

Correction to: The Prevalence of Mental Illness and Substance Abuse Among Rural Latino Adults with Multiple Adverse Childhood Experiences in California

Review Paper

Utilisation of Healthcare Services and Medicines by Pakistani Migrants Residing in High Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Thematic Synthesis

Original Paper

Ethnic Inequalities in Psychological Distress: A Population Data Linkage Study on the Pacific Island of Guåhån/Guam

Original Paper

Food Insecurity and the Double Burden of Malnutrition of Indigenous Refugee Épera Siapidara

Original Paper

Arab Men and Women’s Conceptualization of Mental Health and Depression: A Qualitative Study from the Middle East

Original Paper

Female Genital Cutting: Clinical knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices from a Provider survey in the US