The common prompts of CAM use

Abstract

Background: Little research assesses the clients' perceptions of which conditions CAM may help, or the prompts which cause them to book their first treatment. The reason for attendance was recorded on the initial consultation form used by the practitioner, over a period of 3 ½ years. The research was intended as a step towards understanding clients' expectations and the sources or referrals through which they arrive. Research Question: What are the common prompts that cause clients to book a treatment with a complementary therapist who practices massage, reflexology and aromatherapy? Method: 88 client consultation forms were examined, extracting information from the question: 'why are you here?', along with age, gender, number of reasons for attendance and source of referral- The presenting reasons were categorised and analysed through SPSS to obtain descriptive statistics. Results: The most common health prompt was muscular aches and tension. Accumulating pain categories made it more predominant Women were more likely to have reflexology than men, and tended to come through word of mouth, whereas men were likely to respond to adverts. Conclusion: Understanding perceptions enables therapists to better understand their clients, raise profiles in CAM which are not understood properly, and target specific conditions/client groups.