Women's Health Australia Sub-study: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and womens' health

Dr Jon Adams, Dr David Sibbritt, Associate Professor Gary Easthope (University of Tasmania), Dr Anne Young (Research Centre for Gender and Health)

This study explores the relationship between women's health and the use of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM). A secondary analysis of the Women's Health Australia database has been undertaken to provide the largest study of CAM use worldwide to date (n=>40000). The study is the first to explore CAM consumption among women in Australia. A number of areas have been explored in depth: the profile of women in Australia who use CAM; the use of CAM by women who have cancer; the relationship between CAM use and women's use of conventional medical services; the changing use of CAM by Australian women from 1996-2000. Analysis has been completed for all these areas and a number of papers are currently under review.