Treat or Treatment: A Qualitative Study Analyzing Patients’ Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Abstract

Some participants used CAM practices as a personal luxury, not as a health care technology. This is incongruent with existing expert-led taxonomies. Physicians and researchers need to be aware that patients' views of what constitutes CAM can differ radically from their own. They should choose their terminology carefully to initiate meaningful dialogue with their patients and research participants.