This study examined the knowledge of basic Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) concepts and common CAM therapies among U.S. health educators via paper-pencil and on-line surveys of health educators listed on the HEDIR Listserv. Both surveys have a 48.3% response rate.
Results from 621 participants show that nearly three quarters of the participating health educators are familiar with basic CAM concepts such as what CAM is, whether there is scientific evidence regarding the safety and effectiveness of CAM therapies, and whether acupuncture is effective in treating a variety of health conditions. However, many health educators could not differentiate between the concepts of alternative medicine and complementary medicine. Almost all of the health educators were familiar with the concepts of the mainstream CAM therapies such as chiropractics (97%) and massage therapy (99%), while fewer health educators were familiar with the concepts of the less-widely practiced CAM therapies in the U.S. such as, Qi Gong (9%) and Reiki (19%). CAM knowledge appears to have been influenced by participants' sex, age, education level, race/ethnicity, and employment setting.
The results of this study suggest that professional health education programs need to incorporate CAM education into their curriculum.