Complementary and Alternative Medicine Data Archive (CAMDA)

The Complementary and Alternative Medicine Data Archive (CAMDA) fosters evidence-based research in complementary and alternative medicine by facilitating access to, and statistical analysis of scientifically sound datasets. CAM is a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine as practiced in the United States.

The survey data and clinical trial data in CAMDA can be used to address a variety of research questions, including:

• What types of CAM therapies do people use?
• What types of CAM therapies are effective?
• What conditions are CAM therapies able to treat?
• What side effects of CAM therapies are encountered?
• How much do people pay for CAM therapies?
• For what groups of people are CAM therapies most/least effective?

The CAMDA collection contains 13 studies including:

• National Health Interview Survey, Sample Adults 2002
  
• Harvard School of Public Health/Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Dietary Supplements Survey, 1999
  
• John F. Kennedy School of Government/Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation/National Public Radio Health News Interest Index: Social Security/Vitamins, 1999
  
• National Health Interview Survey, Sample Adults 2000
  
• The Prevalence and Predictors of Herbal Medicine Use in Surgical Patients, 2001
  
• National Survey of Self-Care and Aging (NSSCA), 1990-1994
  
• Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), 1996
  
• Use and Expenditure on Complementary Medicine in England: A Population-Based Survey, 1998
  
• Randomized Controlled Trial of Periconceptional Multivitamin Supplementation on Structural Birth Defects and Pregnancy Outcomes, 1984-1994
  
• Cocaine Alternative Treatment Study (CATS), 1996-1999
  
• The Efficacy of a Standardized Acupuncture Regimen and Amitriptyline Compared with Placebo as a Treatment for Pain Caused by Peripheral Neuropathy in HIV-Infected Patients, 1993-1997
  
• The Evaluation of the Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Moxibustion on Acupuncture Point Zhiyin (67 UB) for Correction of Abnormal Presentation, 1995-1996
  
• A Study of the Effectiveness and the Economic Feasibility of Bone-Setting, 1994-1995
  

The datasets included in CAMDA are based on state-of-the-art research studies conducted in the U.S. and in foreign countries. The archive includes data from nationally representative surveys as well as from clinical trials. CAMDA contains all of the technical and substantive innovations built into previous data archives developed by Sociometrics. In addition, datasets in CAMDA are indexed by Medical Subject Headings (MeSH codes) based on the content and characteristics of the original study.