Parent use of complementary medicine remedies and services for the management of respiratory tract infection in children: a qualitative study

Figures & data

Table 1 Semi-structured interview agenda for parents

Interview agenda

Do you use Complementary Alternative medicine (CAM) with your children to treat acute respiratory infections (ARTI)? Why/Why not? What specific CAM medicines do you use with your children to treat ARTI? Why? How effective do you think each of these medicines/therapies is in treating ARTI? Do you perceive any problems using CAM with your children? If so, what are they? Why did you start using CAM? Why do you use CAM with your children? Do you use preventative CAM with your children - that is, do you use a CAM product to assist the child to remain healthy? Why do you use these? How do you obtain your information regarding CAM treatment? Do you see a health professional that prescribes CAM to treat ARTI? What types and for what reasons? Is there anything else that we have not discussed that you would like to tell me?

Table 2 Demographic characteristics of primary carer (n=26)

Variable	Category	Value
Gender, n (%)	Female	24 (100)
	Male	2 (8)
	Total	26
Age, mean ± SD [years]	Range: 26–54	41±6.89
Residential location, n (%)	Inner city (0–10 km from CBD)	3 (13)
	Suburbs (more than 10 km from CBD)	16 (67)
	Rural suburban (acreage properties)	5 (20)
Number of parents in household, n (%)	One	9 (37)
	Two	15 (63)
Education, n (%)	Year 12	1 (4)
	Certificate	3 (13)
	Diploma	2 (8)
	Bachelor’s degree	9 (37)
	Postgraduate certificate/diploma/	3 (13)
	Honours	6 (25)
	Master’s Degree
Employment status, n (%)*	Full-time	5 (20)
	Part-time	9 (37)
	Casual	8 (33)
	Student	7 (29)
	Volunteer	1 (4)
Gross annual household income, n (%)	Low income < AU$30,000	0
	Middle income AU$30,000–$80,000	7 (29)
	High income >AU$80,000	17 (71)
Health insurance, n (%)	No private health insurance	11 (46)
	Combined private health insurance (hospital & extras)	7 (29)
	Private hospital cover only	4 (17)
	Private extras cover only	2 (8)
Country of birth, n (%)	Australia	18 (76)
	India	2 (8)
	Cyprus	1 (4)
	Kazakhstan	1 (4)
	Poland	1 (4)
	Russia	1 (4)
Language spoken by family at home, n (%)	English	22 (92)
	Punjabi	1 (4)
	Russian	1 (4)
Number of years family has used CAM, mean ± SD [years]	Range: 2–51	23±12.09
Use CAM singularly or with other therapies, n (%)	With other CAM medicines/therapies	22 (92)
	Without other CAM medicines/therapies	2 (8)
	With biomedicine	19 (80)
	Without biomedicine	5 (20)

Note: *Some parents provided multiple responses.

Abbreviations: CAM, complementary and alternative medicine; CBD, central business district.

Table 3 Summary of CAM remedies used for the treatment of ARTI in children (n=46 children)

Remedies	Number of Children total of 46, n (%)
Foods as medicine (soups)	31 (67)
Aromatherapy (e.g. eucalyptus oil)	30 (65)
Vitamin C	27 (58)
Honey	25 (54)
Garlic	23 (50)
Herbal combination	20 (43)
Zinc	19 (41)
Ginger	19 (41)
Probiotics	18 (39)
Echinacea	17 (36)
Fish oil or essential fatty acids or Cod liver oil	17 (36)
Homoeopathic	17 (36)
Multi-vitamin	13 (28)
Peppermint (tea)	11 (23)
Elderflower (tea or tincture)	11 (23)
Olive leaf	10 (21)
Yarrow	4 (8)
Essential oil rubs	4 (8)
Vitamin D	3 (6)
Turmeric Powder (in food and drinks)	2 (4)
Tiger Balm	2 (4)
Magnesium soaks	2 (4)
Onion and Honey	2 (4)
Celloids	2 (4)
Tissue Salts	2 (4)
Cupping	1 (2)
Traditional Tea (e.g. lemon and honey)	1 (2)
Ivy Leaf	1 (2)

Figure 1 Number of complementary and alternative medicine and other health practitioners consulted for acute respiratory tract infection in children over the past 12 months (data for 46 children reporting 72 consultations).

Figure 2 Factors impacting the parental decision-making process when choosing to utilise complementary and alternative medicine for acute respiratory tract infection in their children.

Figure 3 Hypothetical line in the sand for parents when making decisions regarding complementary and alternative medicine use for acute respiratory tract infection in children.

Availability of data and material

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.