Design: A cross-sectional postal survey was conducted.
Setting: The sleep center of a 1100-bed hospital in Taiwan.
Participants: Adults with sleep disorders were purposively selected.
Methods: A questionnaire designed by the researchers was used to collect data regarding the use of integrative medicine approaches within the previous 12 months and regarding the influencing factors. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression were used to analyze the data.
Results: The response rate was 94.5% (n = 515) among 545 adults. The prevalence for the use of integrative medicine approaches was 53.4% (n = 275). The three most perceivably efficacious integrative medicine approaches were qigong, meditation, and acupressure. Educational attainment, the number of chronic diseases/symptoms, and healthy lifestyles (all p < .001) were independent predictors for the use of integrative medicine approaches. The three most common sources of information were television/radio (44%), family/friends (38.9%), and the internet (35.3%). The top three facilitators for the use of integrative medicine approaches were side effects of sleeping pills (51.3%), the perceived efficacy of integrative medicine approaches (36%), and the recommendation of health care providers (19.3%). The top three barriers to the use of integrative medicine approaches were limited accessibility (48.7%), time-consuming procedures (42.9%), and a lack of scientific evidence (41.1%).
Conclusion: Integrative medicine approaches are used by a considerable proportion of adults for treating sleep disorders worldwide. This study provides fundamental information regarding the use of integrative medicine approaches in adults with sleep disorders. Our findings suggest that additional comprehensive studies on the decision-making involved in the use of integrative medicine approaches by adults with sleep disorders are needed.
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