Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, October, 2005.
United Bristol Healthcare, National Health Service Trust, Bristol, United Kingdom. David.Spence@ubht.nhs.uk
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess health changes seen in routine homeopathic care for patients with a wide range of chronic conditions who were referred to a hospital outpatient department.
DESIGN: This was an observational study of 6544 consecutive follow-up patients during a 6-year period.
SETTING: Hospital outpatient unit within an acute National Health Service (NHS) Teaching Trust in the United Kingdom.
PARTICIPANTS: Every patient attending the hospital outpatient unit for a follow-up appointment over the study period was included, commencing with their first follow-up attendance.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Outcomes were based on scores on a 7-point Likert-type scale at the end of the consultation and were assessed as overall outcomes compared to the initial baseline assessments.
RESULTS: A total of 6544 consecutive follow-up patients were given outcome scores. Of the patients 70.7% (n = 4627) reported positive health changes, with 50.7% (n = 3318) recording their improvement as better (+2) or much better (+3).
CONCLUSIONS: Homeopathic intervention offered positive health changes to a substantial proportion of a large cohort of patients with a wide range of chronic diseases. Additional observational research, including studies using different designs, is necessary for further research development in homeopathy.
