TUESDAY, July 3, 2007 (HealthDay News) -- About one in six naturopathic physicians include pediatric patients in their practice in the state of Washington, new research finds.
The study, which is published in the July issue of Pediatrics, also found that almost 30 percent of children seen by a naturopathic doctor visit them for overall health supervision, and almost 20 percent received their immunizations from a naturopathic doctor.
"We were looking to see how many naturopathic physicians treat children on a regular basis and found only about 15 percent do. The conditions seen by naturopathic doctors are similar to what pediatricians see," said study author Wendy Weber, a naturopathic doctor and a research associate professor at the School of Naturopathic Medicine at Bastyr University in Kenmore, Wash., north of Seattle.
Weber was quick to point out, however, that her study was done only in the state of Washington, one of only 14 states that licenses its naturopathic practitioners, and that its findings would likely be different in other states.
Naturopathic medicine focuses on treating the whole person, not just an illness, with natural means such as diet, exercise, vitamins and herbal products. People with chronic illnesses, such as arthritis, fibromyalgia, asthma and Crohn's disease, often seek the advice of naturopathic doctors. Prevention and self-care are important components of naturopathic medicine. In some states that license naturopathic doctors, they can also prescribe medications, such as antibiotics and hormone therapy, and they can administer vaccines.
Naturopathic physicians must be licensed in the following states and territories: Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
"Washington is one of the far more liberal and open-minded states. [Naturopathic medicine in Washington] would probably be the example or a model of what naturopathic medicine should be," said Dr. David Steinhorn, medical director of the Judith Nan Joy Integrative Medicine Initiative at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
To get a better idea of how many naturopathic physicians included children in their practices, Weber and her colleagues reviewed surveys completed by 204 naturopathic physicians from Washington. Just 31 of those (15 percent) saw more than five children per week.
Of those who saw children, pediatric patients comprised 28 percent of their practice, according to the study.
Nearly one-third of the pediatric visits were children under 2, and 58.5 percent were children over 6. Health supervision visits made up 27.4 percent of pediatric visits, while 21 percent of the visits were for infectious diseases. Mental health conditions were responsible for another 13 percent of the visits by children.
Youngsters under 3 received immunizations during 19 percent of the health supervision visits, and 27 percent of those between the ages of 2 and 5 were immunized during their health supervision visits.
"There definitely are naturopathic physicians out there who see children on a regular basis and are likely the primary source of care for children," said Weber.
Both Weber and Steinhorn said they'd like to see more collaboration between traditional physicians and naturopathic physicians, but that in some cases a reluctance to work with naturopathic physicians may stem from a lack of training for naturopathic doctors in states without licensing requirements.
"In unlicensed states, anyone can call themselves naturopathic, but the training can be quite different," said Weber.
"When referring to any other practitioner, I need to be familiar with their credentials or reputation, and I need to know the licensing procedure. Right now, the problem is that there is so little dialogue between conventional medical practitioners and naturopaths that many people don't even know what they are," said Steinhorn.
Steinhorn said more standardization of licensing for naturopathic doctors would be helpful.
Weber said if you'd to take your child to see a naturopathic doctor, and you're not in one of the states that licenses them, be sure to ask about their training and whether or not they attended an accredited school. Many who have, she said, will be licensed in states that provide licenses for naturopathic doctors, and that means they've passed national board exams.
Steinhorn added, "Seek a naturopathic doctor with a significant number of children in their practice or one who has additional pediatric training. You need to know that qualifications and experience with pediatric patients will vary greatly, and you need to be a wise and informed consumer."
More information
To learn more about naturopathic medicine, visit the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges.
