Alternative Medicine Use High Among Children With Chronic Conditions, University of Alberta Study

Children who regularly see specialists for chronic medical conditions are also using complementary medicine at a high rate, demonstrates recently published research from the University of Alberta and the University of Ottawa. About 71 per cent of pediatric patients attending various specialty clinics at the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton used alternative medicine, while the rate of use at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa was 42 per cent. Nearly 20 per cent of the families who took part in the study said they never told their physician or pharmacist about concurrently using prescription and alternative medicine.