Controversy about homoeopathy: A survey on opinion-formers and decision-takers within the European health system

Background and Aim: Despite the growing use of homoeopathic treatment withi n the population there is little scientific evidence of its effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the attitude of opinion-formers a nd decision-takers within European health systems towards homoeopathy and s cientific research on it. Method: A postal survey was done on 1577 addressees in Austria, Belgium, Fr ance, Germany and Great Britain. They belonged to a random sample of seven occupational groups: university heads of medical departments, physicians pr oviding homoeopathic care, general practitioners, representatives of the ph armaceutical industry and health insurance societies; politicians dealing w ith health issues and editors of medical journals. Results: The highest number of unreserved supporters of homoeopathy was fou nd within the subgroup of homoeopaths.(76 %), the highest number of its opp onents among the university heads of medical departments (70 %), while gene ral practitioners were mostly indifferent (57 %). Although the percentage o f university heads of medical departments and homoeopaths who judged homoeo pathy as rather effective was markedly different (5 % versus 95 %), more th an two thirds of each group advocated further research on it. The scientifi c approach generally agreed to be most suitable for this purpose were contr olled clinical trials (82 %). General agreement was reached on the statemen t that research into the effectiveness of homoeopathy deserves more support . Conclusion: As both homoeopaths and. university heads of medical department s clearly advocate further research on the effectiveness of homoeopathy, an d homoeopathic medicine has a significant impact on health care expenses, f urther investments into controlled clinical studies are warranted.