Use of Complementary and Alternative medicine (CAM) for the treatment of health problems in rural Appalachian residents

A non-experimental cross-sectional descriptive design was used to study the demographic profiles, health behaviors and access to health care of underserved rural Appalachian adults in southwest Virginia.  A secondary purpose was to pilot a questionnaire that was developed by the researcher using the International CAM  Questionnaire (ICAMQ).  Two hundred twenty four surveys were collected from attendees at a free remote area medical clinic in Wise County, Virginia. Data analysis was conducted in September 2012 and results included the following: respondents were primarily white, female (66%), married, employed or disabled adults aged 22 – 34 or 45 – 54 who had completed high school or GED, and had a family income of less than $15,000. Thirty-seven percent had no health insurance and 22% of the rest of the respondents’ families had no health insurance. Five percent reported no reliable transportation to a health care provider. Fifty-six percent were current smokers, 67% were current drinkers of alcohol and 11% reported currently marijuana use. Respondents accessed health care providers and other for health conditions in the following order from most to least: physician/ nurse practitioner/ physician assistant, physical therapist, Doctor of Chiropractic, neighbor or friend and psychologist with no significant differences in perceived helpfulness between these sources of health care. Those who reported that they did not see a primary health care provider on a regular basis because due to financial issues visited complementary and alternative health providers (as the providers seen most often) at a significantly higher rate compared with those without reported financial issues (22% versus 8%; p < .05). Those who did not have any form of health insurance saw complementary and alternative health providers at a higher rate than those who had some form of health insurance (17% versus 8%) but this rate was not statistically significant at p < .05).  Those who saw complementary and alternative health care providers most often had a significantly higher self- reported health rating than those who saw conventional providers most often (< .05).