Patterns of Complementary Therapy Use for Symptom Management for Older Rural Adults With Diabetes. (April 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bell, Ronny A.; Quandt, Sara A.; Grzywacz, Joseph G.; Neiberg, Rebecca; Altizer, Kathryn P.; Lang, Wei; Arcury, Thomas A.
• Is Part Of: Journal of evidence-based complementary & alternative medicine. Volume 18:Number 2(2013)
• Page Start: 93
• Page End: 99
• Publication Date: 2013-04
• Subjects: complementary therapy use -- diabetes mellitus -- rural older adults; Alternative medicine -- Periodicals; Complementary Therapies -- Periodicals; 615.505
• DOI: 10.1177/2156587212463070
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2156-5872

Abstract

Studies on complementary therapy use among adults with diabetes mellitus are limited by crude use measures and lack of specificity of use for treating diabetes. Data are from a study including baseline and repeated 3-day assessments of complementary therapy use among rural African American and White older (age ≥ 64 years) adults (n = 71). Most commonly used complementary therapies for diabetes at baseline included prayer (88.7%), food/beverages (50.7%), herbs (11.3%), and home remedies (9.9%). In repeated measures (1131 interviews), prayer was used on 57.2% of days, followed by food/beverages (12.7%), herbs (3.4%), and home remedies (2.7%). In all, 56.3% who reported praying did so on ≥5 reporting periods; other complementary therapy use was sporadic. These data show, with the exception of prayer and food/beverages, limited complementary therapy use for diabetes treatment among rural older adults and less inconsistent use patterns of most complementary therapies. Further research is needed to understand the motivations and patterns of complementary therapy use for patients with diabetes.