Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31315853›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2019

Use of complementary medicine products: a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of 2019 Australian adults.

Joanna E Harnett, Erica McIntyre, Amie Steel, Hope Foley, David Sibbritt, Jon Adams

Erratum issuedAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 28 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
28citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

28 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  7. Factors Associated with the Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Rural Northern Victoria, Australia.Health care analysis : HCA : journal of health philosophy and policy · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Joanna E HarnettSchool of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-9904-2144
Erica McIntyreFaculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, UK.
Amie SteelAustralian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine (ARCCIM), University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Hope FoleyEndeavour College of Natural Health - Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
David SibbrittFaculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Jon AdamsFaculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo provide a contemporary description of complementary medicine (CM) product use in Australia.

designCross-sectional survey.

settingOnline.

participantsA nationally representative sample (n=2019) of the Australian adult population. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcomes measures included the use and type of CM products used, and source of recommendation. Secondary measures included disclosure of CM product use to health practitioners, concomitant use of pharmaceuticals and predictors of use.

resultsPrevalence of CM product use was 50.3%, with the most frequently used being vitamin and mineral supplements (VMSs; 47.8%) and homoeopathic medicines the least used (6.8%). A majority of respondents using CM products were also using pharmaceutical products, and small but significant associations were found between the use of CM products and pharmaceuticals (p<0.05). Small statistically significant associations were found between use of vitamin products and disclosure of use to general practitioners (GPs; Cramer's V=0.13, p=0.004) and hospital doctors (Cramer's V=0.11, p=0.04), and between use of herbal medicines and disclosure to both GPs (Cramer's V=0.11, p=0.02) and hospital doctors (Cramer's V=0.12, p=0.03). Women, those with higher education and those with no private health insurance were more likely to use CM products (p<0.05), while those without chronic conditions were less likely to use CM products (p<0.05) (χ

conclusionsThe number of Australians using CM products has remained relatively stable and substantial for nearly two decades. The majority of CM use relates to VMSs. Given the number of Australians using both CM products and pharmaceutical medicines, it is important to evaluate the potential clinical implications of such practices to ensure safe, effective and coordinated health policy and patient care.

Indexed as

Health Care SurveysPopulation SurveillanceAdolescentAdultAustraliaComplementary TherapiesCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHealth PersonnelHumansLogistic ModelsMaleMiddle AgedPrevalenceYoung Adultcomplementary medicinesnutrition and dieteticsprimary carepublic health

Identifiers

PMID31315853
PMCPMC6661602

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.