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Reports, Surveys, Audits

Australian

NICM 2014 National audit of research activity in complementary medicine

NICM conducted an online survey to document the scale and scope of complementary medicine research in Australia. This is an update of NICM's 2008 survey. The findings of this audit are published in the journal, Advances in Integrative Medicine.(opens in a new window)

NICM 2007-2008 Researcher activity and capacity audit

This report is a partial update of a CM audit undertaken in 2005. The report highlights a number of promising developments since 2005 including:

  • 24% increase in total funds in CM research
  • 79% increase in the number of CM research workers across the country
  • 167% increase in the number CM post-graduate students with scholarships.

During this triennium the focus of research has been largely on nutritional supplements (27%), western herbal medicine (26%) and traditional Chinese medicine (22%).

pdf2007-2008 Activity and Capacity Audit PDF, 236.65 KB (opens in a new window)

Complementary medicine:  A snapshot (2005)

This report was commissioned by the NSW Ministry (now the Office of Science and Medical Research).

pdfComplementary Medicine: A snapshot PDF, 308.8 KB (opens in a new window)

Australian Bureau of Statistics Australian Social Trends - Complementary Therapies July 2008

The ABS has released some significant figures on the increasing relevance of complementary medicine in their annual snapshot of Australian society.

The ABS report draws on data from Censuses of Population and Housing and from the ABS 2004-2005 National Health Survey.

Key findings include:

  • The number of people visiting a complementary health professional (most commonly a chiropractor, naturopath or acupuncturist) increased by 51% in the ten years to 2005
  • The number of people working as complementary health professionals nearly doubled from 4,800 to 8,600 in the ten years to 2006

Australian Bureau of Statistics Australian Social Trends - Complementary Therapies July 2008 (opens in a new window).

National Prescribing Service complementary medicines users report 2008

Research report on the information use and needs of complementary medicine users.

pdf

NPS Complementary Medicines Users Report PDF, 411.55 KB (opens in a new window)

International

The Use of CAM in the United States

Americans are using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). How many Americans? What therapies are they using? For what health problems and concerns?

pdfUse of CAM in the United States PDF, 1511 KB (opens in a new window)

NICM welcomes UK free vitamins initiative

Our children deserve better: Prevention pays - A report from the UK's Chief Medical Officer

The annual report on children and young people's health from the UK's Chief Medical Officer has called on the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to examine the cost-effectiveness of offering vitamins A, C and D to all children under five.

Currently the NHS offers free vitamins A, C and D to all children under five from low income families. It has been claimed that up to 25% of children are vitamin D deficient, leading to a rise in rickets cases.

Professor Dame Sally Davies sets out a range of recommendations to tackle urgent problems such as rising child obesity rates, a lack of effective mental health services for children and growing rates of vitamin deficiency.

NICM welcomes this call to action and encourages the Australian government to consider reviewing the UK's NHS vitamin scheme to see if such opportunities for disease prevention could be emulated here.

Read the report Chief Medical Officer's annual report 2012: Our children deserve better: Prevention pays (opens in a new window)