Multiple interacting factors corresponding to repetitive use of complementary and alternative medicine.

[[abstract]]Objective To examine the factors correlating with repetitive use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Research design In 2006, a community-based epidemiological survey was conducted in Taiwan. A total of 2457 participants (1237 men and 1220 women) aged 18 and over participated in the study. Results From the application of regression tree analysis and the Health Belief Model, we have noticed the following findings. First, demand motive was the most dominant discriminator factor for the repetitive use of CAM. Second-layer discriminators were evaluated on the basis of action benefits and barriers, as well as sources of action information. Another predominant factor is the heterogeneity of individual background. When participants used CAM for treatment of illness, their household income was ≥1000 US dollars per month, they had past experience of western medicine seeking without effects and aged between 30 and 60 years, the predicted mean values for all types of CAM use is 5.62 (the highest). By contrast, when participants used CAM for maintenance of health, their household income was