Self-Care for Common Colds by Primary Care Patients: A European Multicenter Survey on the Prevalence and Patterns of Practices-The COCO Study

Thielmann, Anika; Biljana Gerasimovska-Kitanovska; Buczkowski, Krzysztof; Koskela, Tuomas H; Mevsim, Vildan; Czachowski, Slawomir; Petrazzuoli, Ferdinando; Petek-Šter, Marija; Lingner, Heidrun; Hoffman, Robert D; Tekiner, Selda; Chambe, Juliette; Edirne, Tamer; Hoffmann, Kathryn; Pirrotta, Enzo; Uludağ, Ayşegül; Yikilkan, Hülya; Kreitmayer Pestic, Sanda; Zielinski, Andrzej; Guede Fernández, Clara

doi:10.1155/2016/6949202

Self-Care for Common Colds by Primary Care Patients: A European Multicenter Survey on the Prevalence and Patterns of Practices-The COCO Study

Journal

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Date Issued

2016

Author(s)

Thielmann, Anika

Buczkowski, Krzysztof

Koskela, Tuomas H

Mevsim, Vildan

Czachowski, Slawomir

Petrazzuoli, Ferdinando

Petek-Šter, Marija

Lingner, Heidrun

Hoffman, Robert D

Tekiner, Selda

Chambe, Juliette

Edirne, Tamer

Hoffmann, Kathryn

Pirrotta, Enzo

Uludağ, Ayşegül

Yikilkan, Hülya

Kreitmayer Pestic, Sanda

Zielinski, Andrzej

Guede Fernández, Clara

Weltermann, Birgitta

DOI

10.1155/2016/6949202

Abstract

Background. Patients use self-care to relieve symptoms of common colds, yet little is known about the prevalence and patterns across Europe. Methods/Design. In a cross-sectional study 27 primary care practices from 14 countries distributed 120 questionnaires to consecutive patients (≥18 years, any reason for consultation). A 27-item questionnaire asked for patients' self-care for their last common cold. Results. 3,074 patients from 27 European sites participated. Their mean age was 46.7 years, and 62.5% were females. 99% of the participants used ≥1 self-care practice. In total, 527 different practices were reported; the age-standardized mean was 11.5 (±SD 6.0) per participant. The most frequent self-care categories were foodstuffs (95%), extras at home (81%), preparations for intestinal absorption (81%), and intranasal applications (53%). Patterns were similar across all sites, while the number of practices varied between and within countries. The most frequent single practices were water (43%), honey (42%), paracetamol (38%), oranges/orange juice (38%), and staying in bed (38%). Participants used 9 times more nonpharmaceutical items than pharmaceutical items. The majority (69%) combined self-care with and without proof of evidence, while ≤1% used only evidence-based items. Discussion. This first cross-national study on self-care for common colds showed a similar pattern across sites but quantitative differences.