Page 18 - Standard Indicators for the social appropriation of science

Questions on CAM

As for the other topics, the knowledge question The questions related to the level of perception,
was also formulated to assess the self-reported beliefs and trust may allow to differentiate ideas
level of information regarding this topic. CAM students may have and are better analysed
covers a wide range of non-related practices, as a whole. For example, one may think
thus, being difficult to self-assess one’s own CAM has more advantages but that medical
expertise in such a broad area. This may allow treatments not based on scientific evidence
us to identify mainly people who think they should be discouraged if they see CAM from
have a good level of information because they a complementary perspective in which it
are interested in these practices and those provides an emotional bonus to help patients
who think they know a lot about CAM because follow a Western conventional treatment.
they have strong pro-science beliefs. The key
to identify them is the analysis of the answer to The questions allow to have a broader
this question along with the answer to another picture of the multidimensionality of the topic.
one in this questionnaire.

CAM usage in Europe has increased during
the last decades and it is a common practice,
mostly in a complementary way. It is not usually
employed as an alternative medicine and
23
most people do not differentiate between the
concepts of alternative and complementary.
Moreover, their acceptance, usage and
regulation also vary among European
countries, making it more difficult for a person
to have a defined idea on the topic.

23. See Kemppainen et al. (2018). Use of complementary and alternative medicine in Europe: Health-related and
sociodemographic determinants. Scand J Public Health, 46(4):448-455.

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Persist_EU