Article type
Year
Abstract
Background: Both Oriental medicine and western medicine coexist in the health care system and reimbursed by the national health insurance program in South Korea.
Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine the CAM prevalence for arthritis patients including osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis in South Korea.
Methods: Electronic databases were searched from ovidMEDLINE, CINHAL, and six representative Korean medical electronic databases with the OASIS a database specialized in traditional Korean medicine. We included cross-sectional studies that examined the Korean arthritis patients and presented the percentage of CAM use as the main outcome. Data collection and assessment of the methodological quality of the selected studies were conducted by three independent reviewers.
Results: A total of 15 studies that met our selection criteria were identified. CAM use in Korea varied from 34% to 96% (Fig. 1). Other important findings were as follows: (1) the scope of CAM use and the taxonomies used to describe CAM modalities were inconsistent across studies, (2) Eleven articles were of poor quality, with scores <50%, accounting for two-thirds of the included studies. They were lack of handling of potential bias, addressing potential confounders, and representative sampling strategies.
Conclusions: The prevalence of CAM use among arthritis patients varies across studies. Future researchers should conduct methodologically well-designed surveys using culturally standardised and validated questionnaire to understand CAM use in Korean arthritis patients.
Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine the CAM prevalence for arthritis patients including osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis in South Korea.
Methods: Electronic databases were searched from ovidMEDLINE, CINHAL, and six representative Korean medical electronic databases with the OASIS a database specialized in traditional Korean medicine. We included cross-sectional studies that examined the Korean arthritis patients and presented the percentage of CAM use as the main outcome. Data collection and assessment of the methodological quality of the selected studies were conducted by three independent reviewers.
Results: A total of 15 studies that met our selection criteria were identified. CAM use in Korea varied from 34% to 96% (Fig. 1). Other important findings were as follows: (1) the scope of CAM use and the taxonomies used to describe CAM modalities were inconsistent across studies, (2) Eleven articles were of poor quality, with scores <50%, accounting for two-thirds of the included studies. They were lack of handling of potential bias, addressing potential confounders, and representative sampling strategies.
Conclusions: The prevalence of CAM use among arthritis patients varies across studies. Future researchers should conduct methodologically well-designed surveys using culturally standardised and validated questionnaire to understand CAM use in Korean arthritis patients.
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