Complementary and Alternative Medicine - some Public Health Views

Abstract

CAM is, from the point of view of public health, a phenomenon that should be followed, analysed and controlled. Noxious as well as protective factors which accompany the implementation of CAM methods should be recognised so as to be able to inform the public of the results in a timely and accurate manner. The case study analyses the viewpoints of medical doctors, patients and the state of the phenomenon of CAM in Slovenia. A declinatory attitude of conventional medicine to CAM is present. In contrast, population express a favourable opinion on alternative methods of treatment, and more than a third of them actually make use of them.