Associate Professor of Pediatrics University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Verona, Wisconsin, United States
Background: Integrative health (IH), the use of evidence-based, complementary therapies in conjunction with traditional medicine, is associated with medical benefits, particularly for patients with common chronic pediatric conditions. Parents’ interest in IH within urban Midwestern communities remains unclear. Objective: The purpose of this study was to understand the familiarity, level of use, and parent perceptions of IH approaches to health care for pediatric patients in one urban Midwestern community. Design/Methods: Parents were recruited from three geographically diverse general pediatric clinics at one urban Midwestern academic medical center to complete an online survey. The survey inquired about parents’ familiarity, current use, interest in IH, IH approaches parents would be interested in having available to their children, and for which pediatric conditions. Parents were also asked if they would be interested in attending group medical visits focused on IH for their children. Descriptive statistics were calculated. Results: Participants (N=98) were 81.3% women (n=78) and 77.5% white (n=79). The average age was 36.9 years old (SD=7.78). Over half of the participants (53.7%, n=51) reported familiarity with IH; 34.0% of participants (n=33) reported they had used IH for their child in the past 12 months. Over half of participants (57.7%) were interested in having their provider use an integrative health approach for their child. The most commonly preferred IH approaches were psychological therapies (59.8%, n=58), combination therapies (50.5%, n=49), and nutritional and physical therapies (both 47.4%, n=46). The most common reasons participants were interested in an IH for their child’s care were for preventative care and overall well-being (67.4%, n=65), to address mental health (63.2%, n=61), and for neurological issues (36.1%, n=35). About a quarter of participants (22.9%, n=22) expressed interest in attending a group medical visit focused on IH health.
Conclusion(s): Findings suggest over half of urban Midwestern parents are interested in IH approaches for their children. Additional research is needed to determine how to incorporate evidenced-based IH approaches into general pediatric care, particularly those addressing mental health and common neurologic conditions.
