Investigating the sociodemographic profile and health-related outcomes of chronically ill homeopathic patients: results from an observational multi-centered study in Bulgaria

Background The Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) field in Europe has been a focus of research developments and public health policy changes for years. However, these processes are still in their infancy phase in Bulgaria. In this paper, homeopathy is the investigated CAM-modality at a Bulgarian context. The aim is threefold: 1) to outline the sociodemographic profile of the chronically ill adult patients (≥18 years old) who choose homeopathic medical treatment (HMT); 2) To identify the patients’ sources and needs of information about homeopathy, and the reasons to use HMT; and 3) to measure health-related outcomes in patients who have visited homeopathic clinics to look for HMT of their chronic conditions.