Logo image
Back
International prevalence of consultation with a naturopathic practitioner: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

International prevalence of consultation with a naturopathic practitioner: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Amie Steel, Rebecca Redmond, Janet Schloss, Holger Cramer, Joshua Goldenberg, Matthew J Leach, Joanna Elizabeth Harnett, Claudine Van de Venter, Andy McLintock, Ryan Bradley, …
BMJ Open, Vol.12(7), e056075
25/07/2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056075
PMID: 35879017
pdf
International prevalence of consultation with a naturopathic practitioner: a systematic review and meta-analysis2.10 MBDownloadView
Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0,  Open Access
url
International prevalence of consultation with a naturopathic practitioner: a systematic review and meta-analysisView
Published (Version of record)CC BY-NC V4.0,  Open

Related links

Metrics

132 File views/ downloads
25 Record Views
4 Times Cited - Web of Science

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being

Source: InCites

Abstract

Complementary medicine EPIDEMIOLOGY Human resource management PRIMARY CARE
Objectives: Naturopathy is a traditional medicine system informed by codified philosophies and principles, and an emphasis on non-pharmacologic therapeutic interventions. While naturopathy is practised by approximately 75 000–100 000 000 naturopathic practitioners in at least 98 countries, little is known about the international prevalence of history of consultation with a naturopathic practitioner. This study reports a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies describing the global prevalence of history of consultation with a naturopathic practitioner by the general population. Setting: The included literature was identified through a systematic search of eight databases between September and October 2019, as well as the grey literature. Participants: Studies were included if they reported the prevalence rate of consultations with a naturopathic practitioner by the general population. Interventions: Survey items needed to report consultations with a naturopathic practitioner as defined in the country where data was collected, and not combine naturopathic consultations with other health services or only report consulations for illness populations. Primary and secondary outcome measures: Primary measures used for the analysis was consultations in the previous 12 months. Other prevalence timeframes were reported as secondary measures. Methods: Meta-analysis of prevalence data was conducted using random effects models based on individual countries and WHO world regions. Results: The literature search identified eight manuscripts summarising 14 studies reporting prevalence for inclusion in the review. All included studies had a low risk of bias. Meta-analysis of the included studies by world region found the 12-month prevalence of history of naturopathy consultations ranged from 1% in the Region of the Americas to 6% in the European and Western Pacific Regions. Conclusions: There are up to sixfold differences in the prevalence of naturopathy consults over 12 months between and within world regions, which may be driven by a range of policy, legislative and social factors. PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020145529.

Details

Logo image