Table 1

Population characteristics by practitioner-assisted or self-administered CAM therapies

Characteristic
Population
N = 1,319
Practitioner-assisted CAM
n = 434 (32.9%)
Self-administered CAM
n = 427 (32.4%)



Number
%
Number
%
Number
%

Practitioner-assisted CAM






     0 therapies
885
67.1
--
--
192
45.0
     1 therapy
254
19.2
--
--
102
23.9
     ≥ 2 therapies
180
13.7
--
--
133
31.2
Self-administered CAM






     0 therapies
892
67.6
199
45.8
--
--
     1 therapy
237
18.0
114
26.3
--
--
     ≥ 2 therapies
190
14.4
121
27.9
--
--
Health conditions in past 12 months






     0–1 conditions
216
16.4
29
6.7
45
10.5
     2–3 conditions
507
38.4
145
33.4
145
34.0
     4–5 conditions
327
24.8
127
29.3
112
26.2
     ≥ 6 conditions
269
20.4
133
30.6
125
29.3
Bodily pain in past 4 weeks






     None/very mild
742
56.2
174
40.1
228
53.4
     Mild
308
23.4
122
28.1
89
20.8
     Moderate/severe
269
20.4
138
31.8
110
25.8
Satisfaction with conventional medical doctor






     Not at all or not very much
196
14.9
77
17.7
73
17.1
     Somewhat
528
40.0
187
43.1
185
43.3
     Very
595
45.1
170
39.2
169
39.6
Level of trust in conventional medical doctor






     Little or not at all
238
18.0
77
17.7
88
20.6
     Some
423
32.0
140
32.3
130
30.4
     Completely or a lot
658
49.9
217
50.0
209
49.0
General health






     Poor or fair
65
4.9
26
6.0
27
6.3
     Good
367
27.8
146
33.6
108
25.3
     Very good or excellent
887
67.3
262
60.4
292
68.4
Sex






     Male
1,029
78.0
323
74.4
301
70.5
     Female
290
22.0
111
25.6
126
29.5
Age (years)






     18–24
305
23.1
102
23.5
108
25.3
     25–31
348
26.4
114
26.3
102
23.9
     32–38
342
25.9
113
26.0
111
26.0
     39–57
324
24.6
105
24.2
106
24.8
Marital status






     Single or divorced
528
40.0
199
45.9
183
42.9
     Married
791
60.0
235
54.1
244
57.1
Race/ethnicity






     White
866
65.7
303
69.8
293
68.6
     Hispanic
123
9.3
28
6.5
37
8.7
     Black
190
14.4
59
13.6
54
12.7
     Asian and Pacific Islander
92
7.0
31
7.1
27
6.3
     Other
48
3.6
13
3.0
16
3.7
Education level






     Some high school or diploma
367
27.8
115
26.5
102
23.9
     Some college
654
49.6
226
52.1
221
51.8
     College degree
298
22.6
93
21.4
104
24.3
Salary






     ≤ $19,999
260
19.7
83
19.1
94
22.0
     $20,000-$34,999
377
28.6
123
28.3
111
26.0
     $35,000-$49,999
285
21.6
100
23.1
92
21.6
     $50,000-$74,999
239
18.1
79
18.2
73
17.1
     ≥ $75,000
158
12.0
49
11.3
57
13.3
Rank






     Enlisted
1,082
82.0
362
83.4
339
79.4
     Officer
237
18.0
72
16.6
88
20.6
Service






     Regular Navy
1,017
77.1
333
76.7
341
79.9
     Regular Marine Corps
302
22.9
101
23.3
86
20.1
Occupational category






     Combat specialists
287
21.8
89
20.5
103
24.1
     Electronic equipment repair
192
14.6
63
14.5
56
13.1
     Communications/intelligence
97
7.4
37
8.5
32
7.5
     Healthcare
115
8.7
38
8.8
44
10.3
     Functional support
220
16.7
70
16.1
60
14.1
     Electrical/mechanical repair
236
17.9
71
16.4
72
16.9
     Craft workers
33
2.5
17
3.9
11
2.6
     Service and supply handlers
82
6.2
24
5.5
27
6.3
     Students, trainees, other
57
4.3
25
5.8
22
5.2

Smith et al. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2008 8:19   doi:10.1186/1472-6882-8-19