HOME-BASED THERAPIES FOR THE COMMON COLD AMONG EUROPEAN-AMERICAN AND ETHNIC-MINORITY FAMILIES - THE INTERFACE BETWEEN ALTERNATIVE COMPLEMENTARY AND FOLK MEDICINE/

Background: Most studies of alternative/complementary medicine use in children have focused on children with chronic illness and have not ad dressed the more common form of complementary medicine: popular home-b ased interventions and therapies for common low-morbidity sickness epi sodes. Also, there has often been a distinction between alternative/co mplementary medical practices used by the general population and those used by members of ethnic minority groups and commonly referred to as folk medicine or ethnomedicine. Objective: To describe the home-based therapies and practices that parents from diverse ethnocultural backg rounds use to treat the common cold in their children. Method: Intervi ews with mothers of children coming for care at a number of clinics an d physicians' offices. Included were mothers from European American, A frican American, Puerto Rican, and West Indian-Caribbean heritages. Re sults: Mean number of home-based remedies for the common cold did not differ among ethnic groups (controlling for maternal age, maternal edu cation, number of children, and health insurance status). There were d ifferences among groups regarding the frequency of use of specific rem edies. Conclusions: Home-based remedies for colds in childhood are com monly used. Many of the treatments are complementary to biomedical tre atment (ie, antipyretics, over-the-counter cold remedies, fluids). Ver y few are potentially hazardous if taken in moderation. Mothers from e thnic minorities use similar amounts of home-based interventions when compared with mothers from the majority culture.