Methods: Following approval from Institutional Ethics committee, the data for this cross-sectional study was collected from parents of 125 paediatric patients diagnosed with asthma for more than a year waiting to see the doctor in the outpatient clinic in teaching hospitals and urban health centre of Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, India during the period from March 2010 to September 2010. A pre-tested self-administered questionnaire in Kannada was distributed to the parents, the purpose of the study was explained, assurance of anonymity was conveyed, and emphasized that the patient's decision to complete or decline to complete the survey would not affect his/her healthcare quality in any way. Written informed consent was obtained from the participants.
Results: Data regarding 125 children with a mean age of 9.06 years were collected, the majority were male (n=76, 60.8%). The prevalence of ever-CAM use was 72.8% (n=91). Sixty-three males (69.2%) used CAM compared to 28 females (30.8%) (P < 0.001). Fifty-six (61.5%) CAM users had not discussed use of CAM with their doctors. The main reason of non-disclosure was "the doctor never asked" (n=59, 64.8%), and the main sources of information about CAM were family and relatives (n=45, 49.4%). The majority of asthmatic patients used Ayurvedic medicines and mixtures (n=35, 38.5%), foods (n=18, 19.7%) and herbs (n=16, 17.6%). About 76% (n=69) of asthmatic patients perceived CAM as good for their disease management.
Conclusions: Use of CAM among asthmatic patients is relatively high, particularly among females. The majority of asthmatic patients valued the use of CAM. Health education of asthmatic patients about CAM is highly recommended.