Objective: To identify factors, predicting which patients of a large German university hospital request for a consultation on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Patients and Methods: 350 patients of 3 medical and a psychosomatic department of the University Hospital Freiburg were consecutively surveyed with respect to their coping strategies, health locus of control, anxiety, depression, and the request for a consultation on CAM. Predicting factors were identified via logistic regression models. Results: The request for a CAM consultation was primarily determined by an active coping strategy (odds ratio 1.66, 95% confidence interval 1.27–2.17, p = 0.0002) and a low Karnofsky index (odds ratio 0.79, 95% confidence interval 0.62–0.99, p = 0.0417). Anxiety, depression or internal health locus of control correlated with each other but could not be proved as independent factors for the request for a CAM consultation. Conclusion: Patients of a university hospital with an active disease coping have a need for information about CAM.

No abstract