P04.12
Purpose: For people with chronic inflammatory disease, maintaining a healthy lifestyle and managing stress are an important part of disease management. Previous research suggests that CAM use may promote engaging in health behaviors, and that people may use CAM because it fits with their self-image of being a person with a healthy lifestyle. However, little of this research has been conducted with chronic illness samples. The aim of this study was to prospectively investigate how health-related self-perceptions are associated with the use of provider-based CAM in two chronic inflammatory diseases, arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Methods: A prospective online survey was administered to convenience samples of individuals with arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease, and a follow-up survey completed 6 months later. Surveys included measures of provider-delivered CAM use, disease-related factors, health-related self-perceptions, and trait resilience.
Results: 325 people (170 with arthritis and 155 with IBD) completed the initial and follow-up surveys. Rates of CAM use were 43.2 % and 45.9% for the arthritis and IBD groups, respectively. T-tests revealed significant differences on healthy lifestyle self-perceptions and trait resilience for both illness groups. Differences in self-perceptions about handling stress were only significant in the IBD group. Multivariate logistic regression controlling for demographics and health-related variables revealed that seeing oneself as having a healthy lifestyle predicted CAM use in both illness groups (arthritis OR=1.29; IBD OR=1.24). Being resilient predicted CAM use only in the IBD group (OR=2.09), and self-perceptions about handling stress predicted CAM use only in the arthritis group (OR=1.20).
Conclusion: These findings suggest that that people with arthritis and IBD who perceive themselves to have a healthy lifestyle, handle stress well, and are resilient are more likely to use provider-based CAM. Such information has implications for maximizing the health-promoting aspects of CAM use.
Contact: Fuschia Sirois, fsirois@ubishops.ca
