Recently, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been increasingly used in children. Studies have shown that 34% of adults and 11% of children use CAM in the USA and Canada. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and patterns of CAM use in elementary children in Korea.

From July to August 2007, parents of elementary children completed a questionnaire survey at Gwang-ju. In all, 794 questionnaires were analyzed.

Of the 794 respondents, 278 answered that their pupils (35%) had experienced CAM. The following types of CAM therapy were used: herbal medicine, 62.5% dietary supplements, 31.2% vitamins, 30.2% and acupuncture, 11.1%. CAM therapies were used for the following diseases: nutritional deficiency, 33.3% atopic dermatitis, 31.3% arthralgia, 31.3% allergic rhinitis, 28.8% obesity, 26.3% and asthma. The following were the motives to use CAM: prevention of diseases (33.5%), dissatisfaction with modern medicine (21.2%), and complementary therapy to modern medicine (20.5%). People gained information about CAM through neighbors (65%) and mass media (21%). Moreover, 83 parents (30%) were satisfied with CAM because of its effectiveness.

Many parents have advocated the use of CAM in their children. However, most of them used CAM without any prescription or adequate knowledge. Further studies are required to determine the efficacy of CAM.