MD, PhD, MAE, FMedSci, FRSB, FRCP, FRCPEd.

survey

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Looking at some ancient papers of mine, I came across a short BMJ paper from 1994. Here is a passage from it:

… A standard letter (on departmental letterhead) was written (in German) to all 189 firms that we identified as marketing herbal drugs in Germany. It asked (among other questions) for reprints of articles reporting controlled clinical trials on the company’s product(s).

Only 19 replies had reached us six weeks later. Four of these included at least one reprint. Twelve respondents regretted not knowing of clinical trials on their drug(s). In three cases we had written to a wrong address (one
instance) or to a firm which did not market phytomedicines (two instances).

These data, though far from conclusive, do not give the impression that research is in proportion to either prevalence or financial tumover of herbal remedies…

I wonder what the results would be, if we repeated this little excercise today, 30 years afteer the original investigation. I fear that the findings would be much the same or perhaps even worse. I also suspect that they would be similar regardless of the country we chose. Those who sell herbal remedies have very little incentive to do expensive clinical trials to test whether the products they earn their money with actually work. They may be doing well without it and ask themselves, why spend money on research that might not show what we hope and could easily turn out to jeopardize our financial success?

But the problem is by no means confined to  herbal manufacturers (who would arguably have an important share to initiate and sponsor research). Even though fundamental questions remain unanswered, research into herbal medicine is scarce across the board.

To see whether this statement is true, I did a very quick Medline search. It showed that, in 2023, just over 13 000 papers on herbal medicine emerged. Of those, just 460 were listed as clinical trials. The latter figure is almost certainly considerably smaller than the true amount because Medline is over-generous in classifying papers as clinical trials. I thus estimate that only around 200 clinical trials of herbal medicine are conducted each year. Considering that we are dealing with thousands of herbs and ten thousands of herbal products, this figure is an embarrassment for the sector – which, as we have seen just days ago, is doing extremely well in finacial terms.

Yes, I often moan about the abundance of poor-quality prevalence surveys that we are confronted with when scanning the literaturee on so-called alternative medicine (SCAM), e.g.:

Here is another example that recently appeared on my screen and that allows me to explain (yet again) why these surveys are such a waste of space:

The Use of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Among Patients With Multiple Sclerosis in Morocco

Let’s assume the survey is done perfectly (a condition that most are very far from meeting). If the information generated by such a perfect survey were worthwhile, we would also need to consider possible mutations that would be just as relevant:

  • We have just over 200 nations (other than Morocco) on the planet.
  • I assume there are about 1000 conditions (other than multiple sclerosis) for which SCAM is used.
  • There are, I estimate, 100 different definitions of SCAM (other than ‘traditional and complementary medicine’) that all include different modalities.

So, this alone would make 20 000 000 surveys that would be important enough to get published. But that’s not all. The usage and nature of SCAM change fairly quickly. That means we would need these 20 million surveys to be repeated every 2 to 3 years to be up-to-date.

For all this, we would need, I estimate, 200 000 research groups doing the work and about 20 000 SCAM journals to publish their results.

I think we can agree that this would be a nonsensical effort for producing millions of papers reaching dramatic conclusions that read something like this:

Our survey shows that patients suffering from xy  living in yz use much SCAM. This level of popularity suggests that SCAM is much appreciated and needs to be made available more widely and free of charge. 

I rest my case.

Millions of US adults use so-called alternative medicine (SCAM). In 2012, 55 million adults spent $28.3 billion on SCAMs, comparable to 9% of total out-of-pocket health care expenditures. A recent analysis conducted by the US National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) suggests a substantial increase in the overall use of SCAM by American adults from 2002 to 2022. The paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, highlights a surge in the use of SCAM particularly for pain management.

Data from the 2002, 2012, and 2022 National Health Interview Surveys (NHISs) were employed to evaluate changes in the use of 7 SCAMs:

  1. yoga,
  2. meditation,
  3. massage therapy,
  4. chiropractic,
  5. acupuncture,
  6. naturopathy,
  7. guided imagery/progressive muscle relaxation.

The key findings include:

  • The percentage of individuals who reported using at least one of the SCAMs increased from 19.2% in 2002 to 36.7% in 2022.
  • The use of yoga, meditation, and massage therapy experienced the most significant growth.
  • Use of yoga increased from 5% in 2002 to 16% in 2022.
  • Meditation became the most popular SCAM in 2022, with an increase from 7.5% in 2002 to 17.3% in 2022.
  • Acupuncture saw an increase from 1% in 2002 to 2.2% in 2022.
  • The smallest rise was noted for chiropractic, from 79 to 86%

The analyses also suggested a rise in the proportion of US adults using SCAMs specifically for pain management. Among participants using any SCAM, the percentage reporting use for pain management increased from 42% in 2002 to 49% in 2022.

Limitations of the survey include:

  • decreasing NHIS response rates over time,
  • possible recall bias,
  • cross-sectional data,
  • differences in the wording of the surveys.

The NCCIH researchers like such surveys and tend to put a positive spin on them, i.e. SCAM is becoming more and more popular because it is supported by better and better evidence. Therefore, SCAM should be available to everyone who wants is.

But, of course, the spin could also turn in the opposite direction, i.e. the risk/benefit balance for most SCAMs is either negative or uncertain, and their cost-benefit remains unclear – as seen regularly on this blog. Therefore, the fact that SCAM seems to be getting more popular is of increasing concern. In particular, more consideration ought to be given to the indirect risks of SCAM (think, for instance, only of the influence SCAM practitioners have on the vaccination rates) that we often discuss here but that the NCCIH conveniently tends to ignore.

Patients are increasingly using and requesting so-called alternative medicine Medicine (SCAM), especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it remains unclear whether they use SCAMs in conjunction with conventional medicine or to replace vaccination or other approaches and whether they discuss them with their physicians as part of shared decision-making. This study aimed to evaluate the use and initiation of SCAM during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the association between SCAM-use and COVID-19 vaccination status.

It was a part of the longitudinal cohort of the CoviCare program, which follows all outpatients tested for COVID-19 at the Geneva University Hospitals. Outpatients tested for COVID-19 were contacted 12 months after their positive or negative test between April and December 2021. Participants were asked about their vaccination status and if they had used SCAM in the past 12 months. SCAM-use was defined based on a list of specific therapies from which participants could choose the options they had used. Logistic regression models adjusting for age, sex, education, profession, severe acute respiratory system coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, and pre-existing conditions were used to evaluate the association between being unvaccinated and complementary medicine use. SARS-CoV-2 infection status was evaluated for effect modification in the association between being unvaccinated and complementary medicine use.

This study enrolled 12,246 individuals (participation proportion = 17.7%). Their mean age was 42.8 years, 59.4% were women, and 63.7% used SCAM. SCAM-use was higher in women, the middle-aged, and those with a higher education level, a SARS-CoV-2 infection, or pre-existing co-morbidities. A third of cases initiated SCAM as prevention against COVID-19. Being unvaccinated was associated with higher levels of SCAM-use (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.22 [1.09–1.37]). SCAMs were frequently used for COVID-19 prevention (aOR 1.61 [1.22–2.12]). Being unvaccinated was associated with the use of several specific SCAMs:

  • zinc (OR 2.25 [1.98–2.55]),
  • vitamin D (OR 1.45 [1.30–1.62]),
  • vitamin C (OR 1.59 [1.42–1.78]).

Only 4% of participants discussed using SCAM with their primary care physicians.

The authors concluded that, while SCAM is increasingly used, it is rarely discussed with primary care physicians. SCAM-use, especially for COVID-19 prevention, is associated with COVID-19 vaccination status. Communication between physicians, patients, and SCAM therapists is encouraged to facilitate a truly holistic approach to making a shared decision based on the best available information.

This survey confirmed the findings of several previous investigations. It also shows that the terminologies often employed are inadequate:

  • alternative medicine: as it does not work, it cannot be an alternative;
  • complementary medicine: many patients do not use it to complement real medicine.

As I have explained many times, I thus find SCAM a much more appropriate term.

The last sentence of the authors conclusion is puzzeling. What can SCAM pratitioners contribute to a ‘truly holistic approach’ to decisions about vaccinations? I feel this sentence should be changed into something like the following:

Communication between physicians and patients should be encouraged.  To facilitate an effective approach to making shared decisions on vaccinations, SCAM practitioners should be excluded until they are able to convincingly demonstrate that their advice is based on sound evidence.

Representatives of six Australian professional organizations of so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) developed a survey for e-mail distribution to members. The anonymous online Qualtrics survey was based on previous surveys to identify workforce trends over time. Survey data were analyzed descriptively using Qualtrics and STATA statistical software.

Responses were recorded from 1921 participants. Respondents were predominantly female (79.7%); 71.8% were aged over 45 years. Remedial massage therapists represented 32.1% and naturopaths represented 23.7% of respondents. Highest qualifications were diplomas (37.7%), bachelor’s degrees (28.9%), and advanced diplomas (21.8%). Metropolitan locations accounted for 68.1% of practices. Solo private practice was the main practice setting (59.8%); 13.8% practiced in group private practice with SCAM practitioners; and 10.6% practiced with allied health practitioners. Approximately three quarters of respondents (73.9%) saw 0–5 new clients per week; 42.2% had 0–5 follow-up consultations per week. Collaboration rates with SCAM practitioners, other non-SCAM practitioners, and general medical practitioners (GPs) were 68.7%, 24.4%, and 9.2%, respectively. A total of 93% did not suspect an adverse event from their treatment in the past year. Businesses of 75.9% of respondents were reportedly affected by the pandemic.

The authors concluded that comparisons with previous surveys show ongoing predominance of female practitioners, an aging workforce, a high proportion of remedial massage and naturopathy practitioners, and an increasingly qualified SCAM workforce. There was little change in the very low number of adverse events suspected by practitioners, number of consultations per week, and low levels of income of most SCAM practitioners compared with the average income in Australia. Respondents collaborated at similar rates as in the past; however, more with SCAM practitioners than with GPs.

Yet another fairly useless SCAM survey to add to the endless list of similarly wasteful investigations!

If I had to extract anything potentially relevant from it, it would be just three points:

  • The authors speak of an ‘increasingly qualified workforce’. The basis for this claim is that the highest qualifications were diplomas (37.7%), bachelor’s degrees (28.9%), and advanced diplomas (21.8%). Oh dear, oh dear! Anyone can issue ‘diplomas’ which are not recognised qualifications. In other words, the SCAM workforce is woefully underqualified to take charge of patients.
  • Only 9% of SCAM practitioners ‘collaborated’ with GPs. By collaboration, the authors mean the very minimum of informing the GPs what type of SCAM they might be getting. Such information can be essential for avoiding harm (e.g. interactions with prescribed drugs). In other words, even the minimum of ethical and safe practice is not met in 91% of the cases.
  • The fact that a total of 93% SCAM practitioners did not suspect a single adverse event from their treatment in the past year is extraordinary. It does, I fear, not demonstrate thaat SCAM id safe but that SCAM practitioners are totally oblivious to the possibility of adverse effects. In other words, they don’t inquire about adverse effects and thus don’t notice any.

Yes, these are data from Australia, and one could argue that elsewhere the situation is different. But different does not necessarily mean better. Until I see convincing evidence, I am not optimistic about the clinical practice of SCAM. Altogether, these findings do not convince me that SCAM practitioners should be let anywhere near a person who needs medical attention.

As regulars on this blog know, I am very sceptical about the plethora of nonsensical surveys published in the realm of so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) and thus rarely refer to them here. Today, however, I will make an exception. This international online-survey assessed the demographical data, clinical practice, and sources of information used by SCAM practitioners in Austria, Germany, United States of America, Australia, and New Zealand.

In total, 404 respondents completed the survey, of which 254 (62.9%) treated cancer patients. Most practitioners were acupuncturists and herbalists (57.1%), had (16.8 ± 9.9) years of clinical experience and see a median of 2 (1, 4) cancer patients per week. Breast cancer (61.8%) is the most common cancer type seen in SCAM clinics. Adjunctive SCAM treatments are frequently concurrent with the patient’s cancer specific treatment (39.9%), which is also reflected by the main goal of a SCAM treatment to alleviate side effects (52.4%). However, only 28.0% of the respondents are in contact with the treating oncologist. According to the respondents, pain is most effectively treated using acupuncture, while herbal medicine is best for cancer-related fatigue. SCAM practitioners mostly use certified courses (33.1%) or online databases (28.3%) but often believe that experts are more reliable to inform their practice (37.0%) than research publications (32.7%).

The authors concluded that acupuncturists and herbalists commonly treat cancer patients. Most practitioners use SCAM as an adjunct to biomedicine as supportive care and use it largely in accordance with current oncological guidelines.

You would think that the combined expertise of these institutions are capable of producing a decent survey:

  • Palliative Care Unit, Division of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria
  • Northern College of Acupuncture, York YO1 6LJ, United Kingdom
  • School of Health and Society, Faculty of Education, Health and Wellbeing, University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton WV1 1LY, United Kingdom
  • National Institute of Complementary Medicine Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Penrith NSW 2751, Australia
  • Translational Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Penrith NSW 2751, Australia
  • Medical Research Institute of New Zealand, Wellington 6021, New Zealand
  • Translational Oncology, University Hospital of Augsburg, 86156 Augsburg, Germany

Well, you would have been mistaken! This surely is one of the worst investigations I have seen for a while. Here are just three reasons why:

  • The researchers designed an anonymous self-completion questionnaire collecting data about the participating practitioners’ demographics and clinical practice of integrative oncology. Someone should tell them that one ought to validate questionnairs before using them and that validated questionnairs exist. Unvalidated questionnairs cannot tell us much of value.
  • The researchers  invited SCAM practitioners in Austria, Germany, USA, Australia, and New Zealand to participate in this study. Invitations were distributed through social media and emails between October 2022 and December 2022 by professional organizations. Someone should tell them that research needs to be reproducible and surveys need to cover a representative population – both criteria that are not met here.
  • The survey participants had to hold a valid license to perform acupuncture, herbal medicine, or both. That excludes all other SCAM practitioners.

Despite these serious flaws, the survey shows two findings that might be worth mentioning:

  • only 28.0% of the SCAM practitioners were in contact with the treating oncologist;
  • SCAM practitioners believe that “experts” are more reliable to inform their practice than research publications.

For me, these two points alone would be sufficient reason to run a mile!

On this blog, we had more than our fair share of comments from the anti-vax clan. This article asked a question that I have often been pondering:

How to convince the unvaccinated proportion of the population of the benefits of a vaccination?

Designing more successful communication strategies, both in retrospect and looking ahead, requires a differentiated understanding of the concerns of those that remain unvaccinated. Guided by the elaboration likelihood model, this paper has two objectives: First, it explores by means of a latent class analysis how unvaccinated individuals might be characterized by their attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination. Second, the researchers investigate to what extent (i) varying types of evidence (none/anecdotal/statistical) can be employed by (ii) different types of communicators (scientists/politicians) to improve vaccination intentions across these subgroups. To address these questions, the authors conducted an original online survey experiment among 2145 unvaccinated respondents from Germany where a substantial population share remains unvaccinated.

The results suggest three different subgroups, which differ regarding their openness towards a COVID-19 vaccination:

  • vaccination opponents (N = 1184),
  • sceptics (N = 572)
  • those in principle receptive (N = 389) to be vaccinated.

On average, neither the provision of statistical nor anecdotal evidence increased the persuasiveness of information regarding the efficacy of a COVID-19 vaccine. However, scientists were, on average, more persuasive than politicians (relatively increase vaccination intentions by 0.184 standard deviations). With respect to heterogeneous treatment effects among the three subgroups, vaccination opponents seem largely unreachable, while sceptics value information by scientists, particularly if supported by anecdotal evidence (relatively increases intentions by 0.45 standard deviations). Receptives seem much more responsive to statistical evidence from politicians (relatively increases intentions by 0.38 standard deviations).

According to the authors, these insights suggest that, in the short term, receptives and sceptics are the most promising target groups for vaccination campaigns. Yet, in the medium term, opponents need not be forgotten. While mandatory vaccinations may appear as the only strategy to target strict vaccination opponents, politicians and researchers are advised to focus on ways how to rebuild trust and address beliefs in misinformation within this population group. The inconsistency in vaccine related communication has led to a loss of trust in political and scientific decision-makers. It is therefore important to rebuild this trust through evidence-based communication. The way we understand and perceive the credibility of a source significantly impacts our processing of messages and can also significantly affect related behaviours. Using evidence to validate relevant and reliable information can therefore also be vital to build trust and credibility in the vaccines themselves and their safety.

The authors concluded that our study employed sociopsychological theory to challenge the view of the existence of a single homogeneous group of unvaccinated citizens. By drawing on a large sample of unvaccinated citizens and combining latent class analysis with experimental methods, we encourage decision-makers to carefully consider heterogeneities in the effectiveness of their communication strategies, especially regarding their communicator and employed evidence type.

According to Healthcare.gov, a primary care provider in the US is “a physician (MD or DO), nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist or physician assistant, as allowed under state law, who provides, coordinates or helps a patient access a range of healthcare services.” A growing movement exists to expand who can act as a primary care privider (PCP). Chiropractors have been a part of this expansion, but is that wise? This is the question recently asked by Katie Suleta of THE AMERICAN COUNCIL ON SCIENCE AND HEALTH In it, she explains that:

  • chiropractors would like to act as PCPs,
  • chiropractors are not trained in pharmacology,
  • chiropractors receive some training in supplements,
  • chiropractors wish to avoid pumping the body full of “synthetic” hormones and substances.

Subsequently, she adresses the chiropractic profession’s stance on vaccines.

First, look at similar professional organizations to establish a reasonable expectation. The American Medical Association has firmly taken a stance on vaccines and provides resources for physicians to help communicate with patients. There is no question about where they stand on the topic, whether it be vaccines in general or COVID-19 vaccines specifically. Ditto the American Osteopathic Association and American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine. There is a contingent of vaccine-hesitant MDs and DOs. There is also an anti-vax contingent of MDs and DOs. The vaccine hesitant can be considered misguided and cautious, while anti-vaxxers often have more misinformation and an underlying political agenda. The two groups pose a threat but are, thankfully, the minority. They’re also clearly acting against the recommendations of their professional organizations.

Let’s now turn to the American Chiropractic Association (ACA). Unlike the American Medical Association or American Osteopathic Association, they seem to take no stance on vaccines. None. Zip. Zilch. As of this writing, if you go to the ACA website and search for “vaccines,” zero results are returned. Venturing over to the ACA-CDID, there is a category under their “News and Articles” section for ‘Vaccines.’ This seems promising! However, when you click on it, it returns one article on influenza vaccines from Fox News from 2017. It’s not an original article. It’s not a perspective piece. No recommendations are to be found—nothing even on the COVID-19 vaccines. Basically, there is effectively nothing on ACA-CDID’s website either. We’re oh for two.

The last one we’ll try is DABCI University. No, it’s not a professional organization, but it does train DCs. The words ‘university’ and ‘internist’ are involved, so they must talk about vaccines…right? Wrong again. While there is a lot of content available only to paying members and students, the sections of their website that are publicly available are noticeably short on vaccine information. There is a section dedicated to articles, currently including five whole articles, and not a single one talked about vaccines. One report addresses the pharmacokinetics of coffee enemas, but none talks about one of the most fundamental tools PCPs have to help prevent illness.

Why It’s Important

Chiropractic was defined by DD. Palmer, its founder, as “a science of healing without drugs.” It relies on spinal manipulation. In traditional chiropractic, there is no room for medications at all. A rift has developed within the profession, and some chiropractors, those seeking that internal medicine certification, “try to avoid pumping the body with synthetic hormones and other prescriptions.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, several prominent chiropractors publicly pushed anti-vaccine views. To highlight just a few prominent examples: Vax Con ’21Mile Hi Chiro, and Ben Tapper. Vax Con ’21 was organized and orchestrated by the Chiropractic Society of Wisconsin. It featured Judy Mikovits, of Plandemic fame, as a speaker and touted her book with a forward written by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. It offered continuing education units (CEUs) to DCs to attend this anti-vaccine conference that peddled misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and other prevention measures. Healthcare providers are often required to complete a certain number of continuing education units to maintain licensure, ensuring that they stay current and sharp as healthcare evolves or, in this case, devolves.

This conference was not unique in this either. Mile Hi Chiro was just held in Denver in September of this year, had several questionable speakers (including RFK and Ben Tapper of Disinformation Dozen fame), and offered continuing education. If professional conferences offer continuing education units for attendees and push vaccine misinformation, that should concern everyone. Especially if the profession in question wants to act as PCPs.

Despite training in a system that believes “the body has an innate intelligence, and the power to heal itself if it is functioning properly, and that chiropractic care can help it do that,” without medications, but frequently with supplements, roughly 58% of Oregon’s chiropractors were vaccinated against COVID-19. That said, their training and inclination, along with the silence of their professional organizations and the chiropractic conferences featuring anti-vaccine sentiment, make them a profession that, at the very least, doesn’t consider vaccinations or medications viable health alternatives. We’re now talking about an entire profession that wants to be PCPs.

Irrespective of your belief about the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccination, the germ theory of disease remains unchallenged. Anyone unwilling to work to treat and prevent infectious diseases within their community with the most effective means at our disposal should not be allowed to dispense medical advice. Chiropractors lack the basic training that a PCP should have. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I want healthcare accessible for everyone. But, if you’re looking for a PCP, consider going to an MD, DO, NP, or PA – they come fully equipped for your primary care needs.

Regular readers of this blog will be aware that I have discussed the thorny issue of chiros and vaccinations many times before, e.g.:

I agree with Katie Suleta that the issue is important and thank her for raising it. I also agree with her conclusion that, if you’re looking for a PCP, consider going to an MD, DO, NP, or PA – they come fully equipped for your primary care needs.

Do not consult chiropractors. 

The utilization of certain forms of so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) is prevalent among adults. While researchers have extensively studied the factors influencing SCAM use in Western countries, significant barriers to its adoption remain. This paper draws attention to the obstacles faced by individuals in their journey to using SCAM.

Qualitative interviews were conducted with 21 patients who had turned to SCAM for managing a chronic illness/condition and had been chosen through a ‘snowball sampling’ strategy. These in-depth, face-to-face interviews occurred in Miami, USA, during 2014-15. The sampling, data collection, and analysis processes of this study adhered to the principles outlined in Charmaz’s constructivist grounded theory approach.

From the data, three central barriers to SCAM utilization in the US emerged: 1) Financial barriers: A significant portion of SCAM treatments is not covered by insurance, making them cost-prohibitive for many. 2) Skepticism and discouragement: Both conventional medical practitioners and a segment of the public exhibited a noticeable trend towards discouraging SCAM use. 3) Evaluation challenges: Patients expressed difficulty in assessing the efficacy and benefits of various SCAM treatments compared to their costs.

The author concluded that despite the widespread interest in and use of SCAM in the US, numerous barriers hinder its broader integration into mainstream healthcare. These obstacles not only restrict healthcare choices for the general public but also appear to favor a select demographic, potentially based on income and availability of information.

So, 21 individuals chosen via a snowball sampling strategy located in Miami feel that there were obstacles to using SCAM.

No!

These obstacles existed about 10 myears ago.

No!

The obstacles only existed in the imagination of these 21 guys.

No!

The alleged obstacles are hardly relevant and therefore are not truly obstacles.

The only truly relevant obstacle to SCAM-use is the fact that most SCAMs have either not been shown to work, or shown not to work!

Perhaps surprisingly, the author concedes that their study has certain limitations: “This study had some inherent limitations. The sample, while chosen based on theoretical sampling to achieve theoretical saturation, was both small and self-selected. This limits the broad applicability of the findings. Moreover, individuals from lower socio-economic backgrounds were not represented in the sample, which may have overlooked important perspectives on affordable SCAM options. The sample did not offer a detailed exploration of SCAM perceptions across diverse demographic categories, such as social class or ethnicity. It’s also essential to highlight that this research was conducted exclusively in Miami, a city with a significant population of ethnic minorities in the US. This demographic context could have uniquely influenced the feedback from SCAM users.”

If I may, I will another limitation: This study was utter nonsense from its conception to its publication!

You might think that all of this is quite trivial and that I am rather petty. If you look into Medline and realize how many such useless and counter-productive SCAM studies are being published, you might change your mind.

Conspiracy beliefs (CBs) can have substantial consequences on health behaviours by influencing both conventional and non-conventional medicine uptake. They can target powerful groups (i.e. upward CBs) or powerless groups (i.e. downward CBs). Considering their repercussions in oncology, it appears useful to understand how CBs are related to the intentions to use conventional and so-called alternative medicines (SCAM), defined as “medical products and practices that are not part of standard medical care” including practices
such as mind–body therapies, botanicals, energy healing or naturopathic medicine.

This paper includes two pre-registered online correlational studies on a general French population (Study 1 N = 248, recruited on social media Mage = 40.07, SDage = 14.78; 205 women, 41 men and 2 non-binaries; Study 2 N = 313, recruited on social media and Prolific, Mage = 28.91, SDage = 9.60; 154 women, 149 men and 10 non-binaries). the researchers investigated the links between generic and chemotherapy-related CBs and intentions to use conventional or SCAMs. Study 2 consisted of a conceptual replication of Study 1, considering the orientation of CBs.

Generic CBs and chemotherapy-related CBs appear strongly and positively correlated, negatively correlated with intentions to take conventional medicine and positively with intentions to take SCAM. The link between generic CBs and medication intention is fully mediated by chemotherapy-related CBs. When distinguished, upward CBs are a stronger predictor of chemotherapy-related CBs than downward CBs.

The authors concluded that the findings suggest that intentions to use medicine are strongly associated with CBs. This has several important implications for further research and practice, notably on the presence and effects of CBs on medication behaviours in cancer patients.

Sadly, the influence of CBs is not confined to the field of oncology but applies across all diseases and conditions. We have seen and discussed these issues in several previous posts, e.g.:

The most impressive evidence, however, is regularly being provided by some of the people who post comments on this blog. Collectively, this evidence has prompted me to postulate that SCAM itself can be seen as a consiracy theory.

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