Adolescents' Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Total Enrollment

1400 participants

Study Classification

OBSERVATIONAL

Study Start Date

2001-02-28

Study Completion Date

2003-12-31

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

The purpose of this study is to help improve our understanding of when and why adolescents decide to use alternative and complimentary medicines, and to understand factors that lead to better communication between youth and their clinicians.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Alternative therapies and herbal remedies are increasingly recognized as having therapeutic value, and as many as 42% adults use some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The prevalence of CAM use among adolescents is not known. Questions remain about the safety and efficacy of some CAM therapies, and how to best facilitate communication about alternative medicine between patients and clinicians. Research with adults shows that most do not reveal their use of alternative therapies to their providers. Adolescence is a time of experimentation and the beginning of a shift from depending upon parents to taking responsibility for one's own care. Thus, the health practices begun in adolescence have an impact into adulthood. However, none of the current guidelines for the provision of care to adolescents advise asking about complementary or alternative medicine use. Finally, adolescents are exposed to increasing coverage of CAM in the media, and on the internet. The specific aims of this study are to: 1) determine the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine use among a representative sample of adolescents, 2) describe the range of therapies adolescents use, and where they are procured, 3) describe adolescent and clinician factors that are associated with communication between adolescents and their providers about complementary and alternative medicine, and 4) describe adolescents' exposure to information about CAM from sources such as parents, providers, and the media, and how this impacts CAM use. We propose a cross sectional random digit dial telephone survey of 1200 adolescents in Monroe County, NY. Our findings will allow us to understand how adolescents use alternative medicine. Additionally, since alternative therapies can have potentially serious side-effects or drug interactions, insight into how and when alternative medicine use is disclosed may help clinicians provide better care to adolescents.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Healthy

Keywords

Explore important study keywords that can help with search, categorization, and topic discovery.

Adolescents Alternative and complimentary medication use Health services utilization Communication Quality of care

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Observational Model Type

NATURAL_HISTORY

Study Time Perspective

OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

Adolescents ages 14-19

Minimum Eligible Age

14 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

19 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Jonathan D. Klein, MD, MPH

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Rochester

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

University of Rochester Department of Pediatrics

Rochester, New York, United States

Site Status

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

United States

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

R21AT000407-01

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: org_study_id

View Link