Quick-and-Dirty CAM Searching for Chronic Pain Sufferers

Abstract

Chronic pain sufferers have high levels of interest in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) information. Familiarity with reliable resources facilitates the interaction between the librarian and the consumer. The goal is to get a reliable document as soon as possible. Performing quick-and-dirty searches is the key. Additional searching can be performed while the consumer scans the first document. This article looks at MedlinePlus and NCCAM as the leaders in reliable CAM information. The National Institutes of Health Pain Consortium, American Chronic Pain Association, and the American Pain Foundation offer additional information. Natural Standard, a subscription database, is a valuable tool for traditional uses of CAM.

KEYWORDS:

• American Chronic Pain Association
• American Pain Foundation
• chronic pain
• historical uses
• Mayo Foundation
• MedlinePlus
• Natural Standard
• NCCAM
• Search