A Sociobehavioral Model of Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Providers, Products, and Practices: Findings From the 2007 National Health Interview Survey

Abstract

This study tested a modification of the Andersen behavioral model of health services use to assess the effects of predisposing factors, enabling resources, need, and personal health practices on the use of complementary and alternative medicine providers, products, and practices in the past 12 months. Data were from the 2007 National Health Interview Survey (n = 23 149 adults). Prevalence estimates and logistic regression results were weighted and adjusted for complex sample design. Overall, 16.6% used providers, 18.8% products, and 22.2% practices. There were significant associations in the expected directions between variables in each domain of the model and each type of complementary and alternative medicine use. There were also notable differences in patterns across types: for example, income was more strongly associated with use of providers. The findings support the potential usefulness of a modified health services approach to better understand differences in types of complementary and alternative medicine use.