Health Practitioner Perspectives on Naturopathic stress management supplements

Meet Patel, Liv Weintraut

In recent years, stress has become a daily challenge for over 50% of U.S. adults, driving many to seek alternative forms of medicine. 

Simultaneously, public trust in Western medicine has declined, prompting increased interest in naturopathic remedies such as supplements, herbal medicine, acupuncture, and more. This research aims to explore how healthcare professionals perceive these developments and how they respond to their use in practice. 

Prior studies show that people often turn to supplements for stress relief when conventional treatments feel ineffective (Shurtleff, 2024). The growing reliance on alternative options highlight the need to understand how healthcare practitioners respond to these trends. This study seeks to explore their perspectives through a qualitative analysis of the interview responses.

How do healthcare professionals perceive the effectiveness of stress management supplements?

1. Determine research questions that intersect western medicine and naturopathic techniques.

2. Create interview questions and set up consent form

3. Find appropriate participants (n=5)

• Pharmacist

• Counselor

• Naturopathic doctor

• Nurse Practitioner

• Family Medicine doctor

4. Interview participants via email, phone, or in-person to ensure transcript is recorded.

5. Determine patterns from the qualitative interview to test the hypothesis.

Participants were not related to the researchers and were selected due to their expertise of the field.

• Method of interview:

  • • • Zoom, phone, email, or in-person

• Consent form

• Interview questions

•Most professionals favor evidence-based methods such as diet, exercise, therapy, etc. 

•Some practitioners recommend naturopathic supplements in conjunction with conventional care.

•The main concern with naturopathic practices is lack of clinical trials and safety concerns. 

•Trust in supplements was strongly shaped by childhood experiences and scope of practice.

•Treatment with naturopathic techniques is highly variable among different populations

•Social media was frequently mentioned as a source of misinformation

•Media influence had little influence on providers’ recommendations

The results show that healthcare professionals have differing views on supplements based on context of the patient. Some practitioners acknowledged that cultural and personal preferences influence their openness to alternative options. 

Overall, naturopathic remedies may offer benefits, however it should be integrated with clinical practices and evaluated with more trials. 

•Small sample size (n=5) 

•Excludes public perspectives

•Bias may impact the responses

•Include more alternative medicine practitioners

•Increase sample size

•Incorporate patient/user perspectives

We would like to thank Dr. Jacqueline Daugherty for guidance throughout this research process, the healthcare providers for their time and insight, and the Miami University Undergraduate Research Forum for the opportunity to present this work. 

• https://healingworksfoundation.org/resource/the-state-of-supplements-inforgaphic/

• Shurtleff, D. (2024, September). Anxiety and Complementary Health Approaches | NCCIH. NCCIH; NIH. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/anxiety-and-complementary-health-approaches?utm_source=chatgpt.com