Study title

The study examined Finnish views of alternative treatment methods and complementary therapy. Data collection was funded by the Finnish Medical Association, the Association of Finnish Pharmacies and Pharmaceutical Information Centre. First, the respondents were presented with a variety of treatment methods, and they were asked whether they believed that they could be used to treat illnesses or conditions (e.g. surgical operations, over-the-counter drugs, herbal medicines, acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, homeopathy, chiropractic, hypnosis, diet, prayer). The respondents were also asked which of the treatments they or members of their family had personally used or tried as well as to what extent they had proven helpful. Finally, the respondents were presented with the following statements with regard to a set of alternative treatments: whether the treatment should be generally accepted as a method of treatment, whether it should be regulated by legislation, whether the provider of the treatment should be liable for any damage caused, and whether providing the treatment to children or the seriously ill should be restricted by law. Background variables included gender, age, household composition, income, economic activity and occupational status, educational level, region of residence, number of inhabitants in municipality of residence, number of persons living in the household, and ages of children.