Regional Variation in Use of Complementary Health Approaches by U.S. Adults

Complementary health approaches are defined as “a group of diverse medical and health care interventions, practices, products, or disciplines that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine” (1). They range from practitioner-based approaches, such as chiropractic manipulation and massage therapy, to predominantly self-care approaches, such as nonvitamin, nonmineral dietary supplements, meditation, and yoga. This report presents estimates of the four most commonly used complementary health approaches among adults aged 18 and over in nine geographic regions, using data from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey adult alternative medicine supplement (2).