Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government
Veterans Benefits and Health Care About VA Find a VA Location

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR&D Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Race, Pain, and Beliefs Associated with Interest in Complementary and Alternative Medicine among Inner City Veterans.

Goldstein JN, Ibrahim SA, Frankel ES, Mao JJ. Race, Pain, and Beliefs Associated with Interest in Complementary and Alternative Medicine among Inner City Veterans. Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.). 2015 Aug 1; 16(8):1467-74.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.    Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions


Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence and determinants of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) interest level among a racially diverse cohort of inner city veterans who receive primary care at the VA Medical Center. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey study SETTING: Philadelphia VA Medical Center SUBJECTS: Primary care patients (n? = 258) METHODS: Interest in CAM was measured using a single item question. Patient treatment beliefs were assessed using validated instruments. We evaluated factors associated with patient interest in CAM using a multivariate logistic regression model. RESULTS: In this sample of 258 inner city primary care VA patients, interest in CAM was high 80% (n? = 206). Interest in CAM was strongly associated with African American race [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 2.19, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.05-4.60, P? = 0.037], higher levels of education (AOR 4.33, 95% CI 1.80-10.40, P? = 0.001), presence of moderate to severe pain (AOR 2.02, 95% CI 1.02-4.78, P? = 0.043), and expectations of benefit from CAM use (AOR 1.21, 95% CI 1.06-1.36, P? = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: CAM approaches have broad appeal within this inner city cohort of veterans, particularly among African Americans, those that experience pain and those that expect greater benefit from CAM. These findings may inform the development of patient-centered integrative pain management for veterans.




Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.