@article{article_917163, title={Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Health Literacy in Fibromyalgia}, journal={Ege Tıp Bilimleri Dergisi}, volume={4}, pages={34–41}, year={2021}, DOI={10.33713/egetbd.917163}, author={Aykurt Karlıbel, İlknur and Kasapoğlu Aksoy, Meliha and Demirci, Hakan and Azkan Türe, Deniz}, keywords={fibromyalgia, health literacy, herbal therapy}, abstract={<p>OBJECTIVE: Many patients with fibromyalgia benefit from complementary and alternative therapies (CAM) in addition to <br />traditional therapy. Health literacy (HL) refers to the ability to seek, understand and apply health information. The aim of this <br />study is to investigate the relationship between CAM use and HL in female patients with fibromyalgia. <br />MATERIALS AND METHODS: An open-ended questionnaire, which also evaluates CAM preferences, was applied to 160 patients <br />with FMS, and their data were evaluated in a cross-sectional analytical design. Visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain, fibromyalgia <br />impact questionnaire (FIQ) and HL Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q47) were applied. The patients were divided into two groups (using <br />CAM (Group 1); not using CAM (Group 2)). <br />RESULTS: According to the results of the questionnaire, the HL score was 30.94 ± 8.40 (problematic-limited level). There was no <br />significant difference between the two groups in terms of demographic, clinical parameters, HL and sub-indices (p> 0.05). The <br />results of the evaluations made according to the most commonly used CAM methods showed that there is no difference between <br />those who use the relevant CAM method and those who do not, according to the HL general score and subscale scores. The most <br />preferred CAM methods were prayer (37.9%), wet cupping (21.8%), herbal therapy (16.30%), dry cupping (12.9%) and thermal bath <br />(11.40%), respectively. <br />CONCLUSION: The results of our study showed that the use of CAM is common among women with FMS, and spiritual methods <br />are the leading methods. In addition, disease severity and health literacy levels were similar in CAM users and non-users. <br /> </p>}, number={2}, publisher={Uşak Cerrahi Derneği}