Australians More Confident in Traditional Medicine than Complementary and Natural Therapies
To be released: 13 December 2007
A national survey has confirmed that most Australians continue to place greater trust in traditional medicines prescribed by their doctors than in complementary and natural therapies.
The survey, commissioned by Research Australia and funded by the MBF Foundation, showed that 94% of Australians are confident that traditional medicines prescribed for them by their doctors are safe and effective.
And 77% say they also trust over-the-counter therapies obtained without a prescription for common conditions such as colds, flu and headaches and 83% support well-known allied health therapies such as physiotherapy and chiropractic treatment.
But support isn't so strong when it comes to complementary or natural therapies. Only 56% expressed confidence in complementary or alternative medicines and only 51% would be confident in remedies prescribed by a naturopath or homeopath.
Dr Christine Bennett, MBF chief medical officer and chair of the MBF Foundation Steering Committee, said the survey provided a useful snapshot of how Australians view the treatments that they hope will improve their health.
"Australians having greater faith in traditional medicines prescribed by their doctors over complementary or alternative medicines is really a vote of confidence in General Practitioners," Dr Bennett said.
"The results of the Research Australia survey are supported by a recent MBF Healthwatch poll that found 71% of Australians turn to their GPs first when they are ill or in need of health advice.
"In some ways, it is not surprising that the confidence Australians have in their GPs would then flow through to the medicines and therapies they might prescribe or recommend."
The Research Australia poll showed that when it come to health supplements, multi-vitamins are the most popular with 51% of respondents claiming to have used them in the past 12 months to counter a lack of energy.
A third of Australians (32%) use glucosamine for osteoarthritis, just over a quarter (28%) take St John's Wort for moderate depression and 26% use fish oil to prevent heart disease and joint pain and to help memory. Only one in ten use evening primrose oil for menstrual problems and gingko biloba to bolster failing memory.
The survey was conducted by Crosby|Textor in August 2007 and involved interviews with 630 people nationwide.
About the MBF Foundation
The MBF Foundation is a charitable institution set up by MBF to support and manage important health initiatives for the community using a portion of MBF Group's investment income each year. The Foundation is focussing on three key areas – wellness and obesity, supporting healthy ageing and keeping healthcare affordable.
