Influence of benefits, barriers and cues to action for complementary and alternative medicine use among university students.

The purpose of the study was to explore the influence of perceived benefits, barriers, and cues to action on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) use among university students. This was a prospective, cross sectional questionnaire-based study conducted at a large urban university in Houston, Texas. Of the 400 students surveyed, 143 (35.8%) were current CAM users (used CAM in the past 12 months). Biologically based medications such as herbs, vitamins, supplements and natural products were found to be most profoundly used among students (42%). Perceived benefits (OR 9.14, 95% CI 4.64-18), barriers to CAM use (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.27-0.89) and cues to action (OR 5.21, 95% CI 1.02-26.51) were significant determinants of CAM use among students. Perceived ability of CAM to improve body defenses was found to be the major perceived benefit for CAM use while lack of sufficient scientific testing was found to be the major barrier. Recommendation by health care provider and CAM use by parents and grandparents significantly (p < 0.0001) influenced current CAM use among students. Thus, perceived benefits and cues to action for CAM use significantly promoted CAM usage while perceived barriers were found to hinder CAM use among students.