Consequences of the pandemic for CAM therapists and their patients

Abstract

In March 2020, the Norwegian authorities decided to shut down the country to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The lockdown of society resulted in many healthcare workers having to close their practice or comply with a requirement of two meters distance between patients and providers, and consultations of a maximum of 15 minutes. This also applied to the CAM providers. In collaboration with 35 CAM organizations, we forwarded a survey to 2,215 CAM providers at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (March-May 2020). We wanted to investigate how the pandemic affected their financial situation, patient consultations, how they perceived their future practice, and which advice they gave their patients about staying healthy.