ArticleEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2011
Integration of complementary and alternative medicine into family practices in Germany: results of a national survey.
Article in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
49 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 134 citations in OpenAlex.
- Process of care in outpatient Integrative healthcare facilities: a systematic review of clinical trials.BMC health services research · 2015Pooled it
- Long-term results of therapeutic local anesthesia (neural therapy) in 280 referred refractory chronic pain patients.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2015Trial
- Integrating Traditional and Complementary Medicine into Saudi Primary Care:Saudi medical journal · 2026Review
- Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Oncology: A Concise Review of Utilization, Evidence, and Integration Challenges.Cancer reports (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2026Review
- Article
- Is increasing the number of medical students a suitable strategy to improve the distribution of physicians in Iran?BMJ global health · 2025Article
- General practitioners' perspectives on diagnosis and treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infections: A qualitative study in the Northern Dutch-German cross-border region.The European journal of general practice · 2025Article
- A Comprehensive Look at Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in Saudi Arabia: A Meta-Analysis Study.Health science reports · 2025Review
- How does the role of complementary and alternative medicine in general practice differ between countries? Interviews with doctors who have worked both in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2024Article
- Exploring the gap: attitudes, knowledge, and training needs in complementary and integrative medicine among healthcare professionals at German university hospitals.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Article
- Neurological symphony: post-acute COVID-19 syndrome, an innovative pathophysiological exploration from neuraltherapeutic medicine.Frontiers in integrative neuroscience · 2024Review
- Integrative nursing interventions: knowledge, attitudes and practice in home nursing services in Germany-a quantitative and qualitative online survey.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Article
- Endorsement of alternative medicine and vaccine hesitancy among physicians: A cross-sectional study in four European countries.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2023Article
- [How Common are Complementary Medicine Procedures in Bavarian Acute Care Hospitals? Results of A Bavarian-wide Website Screening].Gesundheitswesen (Bundesverband der Arzte des Offentlichen Gesundheitsdienstes (Germany)) · 2023Article
- Article
- Toward a digital citizen lab for capturing data about alternative ways of self-managing chronic pain: An attitudinal user study.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences · 2022Article
- Naturopathy, complementary and integrative medicine in medical education - position paper by the GMA Committee Integrative Medicine and Perspective Pluralism.GMS journal for medical education · 2022Article
- Integration of complementary and integrative medicine competencies in general practice postgraduate education - development of a novel competency catalogue in Germany.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2021Article
- Integrative Medicine in General Practice in Australia: A Mixed-Methods Study Exploring Education Pathways and Training Needs.Global advances in health and medicine · 2021Article
- Play the Pain: A Digital Strategy for Play-Oriented Research and Action.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
More than two-thirds of patients in Germany use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) provided either by physicians or non-medical practitioners ("Heilpraktiker"). There is little information about the number of family physicians (FPs) providing CAM. Given the widespread public interest in the use of CAM, this study aimed to ascertain the use of and attitude toward CAM among FPs in Germany. A postal questionnaire developed based on qualitatively derived data was sent to 3000 randomly selected FPs in Germany. A reminder letter including a postcard (containing a single question about CAM use in practice and reasons for non-particpation in the survey) was sent to all FPs who had not returned the questionnaire. Of the 3000 FPs, 1027 (34%) returned the questionnaire and 444 (15%) returned the postcard. Altogether, 886 of the 1471 responding FPs (60%) reported using CAM in their practice. A positive attitude toward CAM was indicated by 503 FPs (55%), a rather negative attitude by 127 FPs (14%). Chirotherapy, relaxation and neural therapy were rated as most beneficial CAM therapies by FPs, whereas neural therapy, phytotherapy and acupuncture were the most commonly used therapies in German family practices. This survey clearly demonstrates that CAM is highly valued by many FPs and is already making a substantial contribution to first-contact primary care in Germany. Therefore, education and research about CAM should be increased. Furthermore, with the provision of CAM by FPs, the role of non-medical CAM practitioners within the German healthcare system is to be questioned.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.