Abstract
Objective:
The aim of this study was to assess health changes seen in routine homeopathic care for patients with a wide range of chronic conditions who were referred to a hospital outpatient department.
Design:
This was an observational study of 6544 consecutive follow-up patients during a 6-year period.
Setting:
Hospital outpatient unit within an acute National Health Service (NHS) Teaching Trust in the United Kingdom.
Participants:
Every patient attending the hospital outpatient unit for a follow-up appointment over the study period was included, commencing with their first follow-up attendance.
Main outcome measure:
Outcomes were based on scores on a 7-point Likert-type scale at the end of the consultation and were assessed as overall outcomes compared to the initial baseline assessments.
Results:
A total of 6544 consecutive follow-up patients were given outcome scores. Of the patients 70.7%(n = 4627) reported positive health changes, with 50.7% (n = 3318) recording their improvement as better(+2) or much better (+3).
Conclusions:
Homeopathic intervention offered positive health changes to a substantial proportion of a large cohort of patients with a wide range of chronic diseases. Additional observational research, including studies using different designs, is necessary for further research development in homeopathy.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.