Alternative or complementary? Nonallopathic therapies for HIV/AIDS

Context Many people with HIV/AIDS use alternative therapies. Do they choose alternative therapies instead of allopathic therapies? Objective To examine patterns of use of allopathic therapies and alternativ e therapies among people living with HIV/AIDS. Design Cross-sectional survey of convenience sample. Setting Nonclinical setting in Australia. Participants 925 men and women living with HIV/AIDS in Australia. Main Outc ome Measures Correlates of choice of therapy included demographic variables , sources of information about treatment, and attitudes toward treatments a nd health management. Results 56% of people living with HIV/AIDS in Australia use alternative the rapies. Attitudes toward both allopathic and alternative therapies were pos itive. The choice of allopathic and/or alternative therapies was related to disease progression. Choice of therapy was also related to attitudes towar d allopathic and alternative therapies. Many users of alternative therapies believe that such therapies can alleviate the side effects of antiretrovir al drugs. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that rather than being used a s an alternative to allopathic medicine, nonallopathic therapies are used b y people living with HIV/AIDS as complementary therapies.