Research Article Use of Folk Therapy in Taiwan: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Survey of Prevalence and Associated Factors Chun-Chuan Shih, 1,2,3,4,5 Lu-Hsiang Huang, 6 Hsin-Long Lane, 1 Chin-Chuan Tsai, 1 Jaung-Geng Lin, 5 Ta-Liang Chen, 7,8,9 Chun-Chieh Yeh, 10,11 and Chien-Chang Liao 5,7,8,9 1 School of Chinese Medicine for Post-Baccalaureate, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung 82445, Taiwan 2 Taipei Chinese Medical Association, Taipei 100, Taiwan 3 Quality of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy Medical Association, New Taipei City 247, Taiwan 4 Ph.D. Program for Clinical Drug Discovery from Botanical Herbs, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan 5 School of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan 6 Clinical Informatics and Medical Statistics Research Center, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 33302, Taiwan 7 Department of Anesthesiology, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei 110, Taiwan 8 Health Policy Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei 110, Taiwan 9 School of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan 10 Department of Surgery, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40402, Taiwan 11 Department of Surgery, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL 60612, USA Correspondence should be addressed to Chien-Chang Liao; jacky48863027@yahoo.com.tw Received 5 February 2015; Accepted 21 May 2015 Academic Editor: Menachem Oberbaum Copyright © 2015 Chun-Chuan Shih et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background. Tis study investigates the prevalence of and factors associated with users of folk therapy in Taiwan. Methods. Using data from the 2005 National Health Interview Survey and the National Health Insurance Research Database, we identifed 16,750 adults aged 20 years and older. Sociodemographic factors, lifestyle, medical utilization, and health behaviors were compared between people using and not using folk therapy. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confdence intervals (CIs) of factors associated with folk therapy were analyzed. Results. Te one-month prevalence of folk therapy use was 6.8%, which was signifcantly associated with ages of 30–59 years (OR = 1.98, 95% CI = 1.49–2.63), women (OR = 1.63, 95% CI = 1.40–1.90), nonindigenous population (OR = 1.90, 95% CI = 1.14–3.17), having two or more unhealthy lifestyle habits (OR = 1.51, 95% CI = 1.26–1.81), high density of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) physicians (OR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.20–1.62), and being ill without receiving medical care in past six months (OR = 2.11, 95% CI = 1.76–2.53). Medical care utilization of TCM and Western medicine were also associated factors for folk therapy. Conclusions. Te use of folk therapy is correlated with sociodemographics, lifestyle and health behaviors. 1. Introduction Te acceptance and use of complementary alternative medicine (CAM) in general populations has been increasing in both Asian and Western countries [1–5]. A population- based survey in the United Kingdom showed that use of one or more CAM therapies during the life course was 46% [3]. A high prevalence of CAM use has also been noted in the United States among patients with breast cancer [5]. People using CAM may intend to improve their health and well-being [6, 7], to relieve symptoms associated with chronic or terminal illness, or to attenuate side efects of Western medical treatments [8, 9]. Diferent CAM types address diferent issues; these include physical, biochemical, nutritional, emotional, social, and spiritual aspects of illness and wellness. Hindawi Publishing Corporation Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Volume 2015, Article ID 649265, 9 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/649265