Changed quality of life by in-patient naturopathic treatment results of the "Blankenstein model".

To check the possibilities and limitations of naturopathic treatment in in- patient care, a department of naturopathy was set up as a model project at the Hospital Blankenstein, Hattingen, in January 1997. In accordance with t he plans and concepts of the Ministry For Women, Young People, Family And H ealth of the land North-Rhine Westphalia and the Federation of Statutory He alth insurance bodies, the department of naturopathy is designed to receive scientific support by the Chair of Medicine Theory for a total of three ye ars, starting July 1, 1999. Focus is on the following question: How will a three-week in-patient, treatment with naturopathic methods affect the quali ty of life of patients, based on a pre-post-comparison and a follow-up over 6 months? Methods: a prospective observation study with 4 defined times of measuremen t (hospitalisation, discharge, 3 and 6 months after the end of the in-hospi tal stay) and an analysis of the subgroups of patients with rheumatic disea ses was carried out. The study comprised 618 patients of the department of naturopathy who were treated for rheumatic diseases, metabolic diseases, ch ronic bronchial diseases and allergic complaints between July 1, 1999 and J une 13, 1999. The average age was 57.3 years and the median was 58 years. 7 1.3%; of the patients were of gainful employment age, i.e. between 17 and 6 5 years old. The therapy consisted of serial treatments with classical natu ropathic methods (hydrotherapy, phytotherapy etc.) adapted to the patients' individual needs. The aim parameter was the quality of life of the patient , measured by SF-36 and HLQ. Results: All subscales as well as the total scores of life quality showed h ighly significant improvements it-test, p < 0.01) between the times of 'hos pitalisation' and 'discharge'. During follow-up these Values stabilised on a level significantly higher than the initial level. Patients with rheumati c diseases showed a different profile compared to patients with similar dis eases. Conclusion: Results show a stabilisation of patients during fellow-u p, demonstrating the long-term effect of the applied treatment. This is of special importance of naturopathy, as the temporal dimension of treatment i s important in this context, and as it is often asserted that a manifestati on of a therapeutical success is obvious mainly on a long-term basis.