Kids Who Get Alternative Medicine May Be Less Likely To Get Flu Shot

(Reuters Health) - Children that visit alternative medical practitioners like acupuncturists and chiropractors may be less likely to receive flu shots than their peers, a U.S. study suggests. Roughly 33 percent of kids who saw providers of so-called non-Western medicine for services like acupuncture or homeopathic care got vaccinations for influenza, the analysis of national survey data on about 9,000 kids found. About 35 percent of kids who went to practitioners of what’s known as manipulative and body-based therapies such as chiropractic care or massage got flu vaccinations. In comparison, 43 percent of children who didn’t see these types of alternative medicine providers got vaccinated, researchers report in the journal Pediatrics. “Some complementary and alternative medicine practitioners have anti-vaccine or vaccine-hesitant viewpoints,” said lead study author William Bleser of Pennsylvania State University in State College. While the findings don’t prove alternative medicine providers discourage vaccination, these results suggest that it makes sense for pediatricians to ask parents whether their kids use these services to help shape discussions about vaccinations, Bleser added by email.  “More and more patients are using complementary and alternative medicine and may be expecting their health professionals to guide them in making decisions about whether complementary and/or conventional approaches work better for disease treatmen...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news