Andrew C. Ahn ^1*, Quyen Ngo-Metzger ², Anna T.R. Legedza ³, Michael P. Massagli ⁴, Brian R. Clarridge ⁵, Russell S. Phillips ³

¹ Harvard Medical School
² University of California at Irvine College of Medicine
³ Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
⁴ Massachuesetts General Hospital
⁵ University of Massachusetts, Boston

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: aahn{at}hms.harvard.edu.

	Abstract

Objective. We examined the use of complementary and alternative medical(CAM) therapies among Chinese and Vietnamese Americans who had limited proficiency with the English language and the association between patient-clinician discussions about CAM therapy use and patient assessments of quality of care.

Methods. We surveyed Chinese and Vietnamese Americans who visited 11 community health centers in 8 major cities throughout the United States.

Results. Of the 4410 patients surveyed, 3258 (74%) returned completed questionnaires. Two thirds of respondents reported they had "ever used" some form of CAM therapy; however, only 7.6% of these patients had discussed their use of CAM therapies with clinicians. Among patients who had used CAM therapies during the week before their most recent visits, clinician-patient discussions about CAM therapy use were associated with better overall patient ratings of quality of care.

Conclusion. Use of CAM therapies was common among Chinese and Vietnamese Americans who had limited proficiency with the English language. Although discussions about CAM therapy use with clinicians were uncommon, these discussions were associated with better ratings of quality of care.

Key Words: Community Health, Quality of Care, Immigration, Asians, Surveys