Osteopathy use in families of the Auckland Playcentre Association of New Zealand : prevalence and associated factors

Abstract

To determine the prevalence of osteopathy use in New Zealand (NZ) preschool children and their parents and establish whether factors associated with Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) use are relevant to the use of osteopathy; providing information about health care practices and preferences to health care professionals, in particular osteopaths, that can be utilised towards meeting the current health, safety and education needs of NZ families. PREFACE: This research project explores the use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), and more specifically osteopathy, in New Zealand (NZ) families, and is presented here in 3 main parts. Firstly, in order to contextualise the findings, the literature review describes the contribution of CAM to western health care. The development of western health care and the role of CAM and osteopathy in the NZ health care system are explored. Factors associated with CAM use for both adults and children are summarized and, with relevance to the paediatric population in particular, concerns about CAM use and the issues surrounding the use of osteopathy and manual therapy for children are also outlined; providing a basis for understanding the implications of the findings of this study. Secondly, the study is presented as a manuscript with related appendices to suit publication in the International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine, utilising the stipulated formatting and referencing style. Thirdly, the appendix contains documentation of ethics approval, participant information and guidelines for journal publication.