Overview
The Internet, also called the Web, is an extremely popular source of information on countless topics, including complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The Internet provides current, comprehensive, and searchable information on any CAM topic, which gives the Internet an advantage over traditional forms of media, such as print. However, because virtually anyone can publish information on the Internet through personal Web sites and blogs, Web-based information can be worthless, and relying on it can even be detrimental.
The most reliable information can be obtained from sources such as university
medical centers; from PubMed, the public research database that includes millions
of citations for biomedical literature, run by the National Center for
Biotechnology Information of the National Institutes of Health (NIH);
from the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and from the
World Health
Organization (WHO). Although focused on conventional
medicine, these entities and others like them are paying increasing attention to
CAM, which is gaining popularity throughout the United States and Europe. On
PubMed, one can limit searches to citations related to CAM.
CAM’s Popularity
The information available on the Internet would have little impact if interest in CAM were lacking; in fact, interest is surging. A 2011 study conducted by researchers at the University of Texas evaluated the reasons for CAM’s increasing popularity. One of the study’s researchers, Dejun Su, noted that “The rising cost of healthcare is outpacing inflation and salaries, and there’s a good possibility that that is linked to increasing CAM use.” Su added that CAM usage has been increasing in acceptance for a number of years. In 1990, one-third of all Americans had tried some form of CAM; by 2002, that number had nearly doubled, and the numbers are continuing to increase.
The study compared data from the 2002 and 2007 National Health Interview
Surveys, which are conducted annually by the National Center for Health Statistics
(a subsidiary of the CDC), which tracks the health-care status of Americans and
tracks their access to the system. Overall, the United States saw a 14 percent
increase in the use of CAM from 2002 to 2007. Among the most popular forms of CAM
were massage and chiropractic care.
In June 2010, representatives of the Chinese ministry of health visited the
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), to learn how traditional Chinese
medicine and integrative medicine are practiced in
the United States as a new health-care model. Also, UCLA’s Center for East-West
Medicine is collaborating with China to develop an online informational library on
integrative medicine. The Center is also creating an Internet-based multimedia
resource for clinicians, educators, and consumers.
Purchasing CAM Products on the Web
Herbal products, for example, are widely available for sale through commercial
Web sites. The herbal product digitalis, which is used for the
treatment of heart conditions, is derived from the foxglove shrub
(Digitalis lanata). Quinine, which has a number of
medicinal uses (as, for example, an antimalarial and an analgesic) is derived from
the bark of the cinchona tree (Cinchona species).
Because herbal products are natural products, they do not fall under the
jurisdiction of government agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA). The FDA requires a rigorous testing
process before a drug can be made available to the general public. No such
oversight occurs with herbal products. Medical experts fear that some persons with
serious medical conditions, such as malignant cancers, will purchase worthless
products through the Web and fail to seek conventional medical care for
life-threatening illnesses.
Internet Resources
Much of the Internet is devoted to the marketing of products or services. One
can purchase natural products and can locate CAM practitioners (such as
acupuncturists and massage therapists) and instructors (such as in yoga and
meditation). Also, Web sites exists for persons seeking general information about
CAM. The simplest method for information gathering is via a search engine. For
example, searching on the phrase “prostate and saw palmetto” reveals information
on the use of saw
palmetto for benign prostatic hypertrophy. Search results
will include links to scientific papers, but also to anecdotal accounts and
commercial sites. The sites of the following resources, however, provide focused
research articles and other trustworthy information.
The National
Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), a
component of the National Institutes of Health, conducts scientific research on
the diverse medical and health-care systems, practices, and products that are not
generally considered part of conventional medicine. The organization states that
its mission is “to define, through rigorous scientific investigation, the
usefulness and safety of complementary and alternative medicine interventions and
their roles in improving health and healthcare.”
NCCAM has four primary areas of focus: It funds research projects at scientific institutions both in the United States and globally; supports training programs for new researchers and encourages existing researchers to investigate CAM; provides timely, accurate information through its Web site, through social media such as Twitter and Facebook and through its information clearinghouse, fact sheets, and continuing medical education programs; and promotes those CAM therapies proven safe and effective.
PubMed contains a searchable database of published scientific papers on many medical topics, including CAM.
The Web site of the CDC, a U.S. government organization focused on maintaining and improving health, features a comprehensive list of diseases and conditions (communicable, genetic, environmental, and self-inflicted), healthy living, and traveler’s health.
WHO, the health authority within the United Nations system, “is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.” The organization’s Web site contains informative links on a variety of health topics and publications. Although WHO is focused on conventional medicine, it also provides information on CAM.
While most medical centers in the United States contain public information on conventional medicine, many also provide CAM resources through searchable databases. Medical centers with searchable databases include the Mayo Clinic (http://www.mayoclinic.com) and the UCLA Medical Center (http://www.uclahealth.org).
Bibliography
Crawford, Gregory A. The Medical Library Association Guide to Finding out About Complementary and Alternative Medicine: The Best Print and Electronic Resources. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2010. A comprehensive resource on CAM, with coverage of both Web-based and print sources.
Freeman, Lyn. Mosby’s Complementary and Alternative Medicine: A Research-Based Approach. 3d ed. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby/Elsevier, 2009. Providing a comprehensive overview, this text includes practical, clinically relevant coverage of CAM, with commentary by well-known experts, descriptions of medical advances, case studies, and discussion of the history and philosophy of each discipline.
Health On the Net Foundation. United Nations. http://www.hon.ch.
Hock, Randolph. The Extreme Searcher’s Internet Handbook: A Guide for the Serious Searcher. 3d ed. Medford, N.J.: CyberAge Books, 2010. A guide to Internet research for librarians, teachers, students, writers, business professionals, and health consumers.
Micozzi, Marc S., ed. Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 4th ed. St. Louis, Mo.: Saunders/Elsevier, 2011. An evidence-based approach that focuses on treatments best supported by clinical trials and scientific studies. Covers the foundations of CAM, traditional Western healing, and traditional healing systems of Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). http://nccam.nih.gov.
Owen, David J. The Herbal Internet Companion: Herbs and Herbal Medicine Online. New York: Haworth Information Press, 2002. A guide to herbal products and herbal medicine on the Web.
PubMed. National Center for Biotechnology Information. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed.
World Health Organization. http://www.who.int.
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