Identifying the movement with no name: an evaluation of the 2000 UW-Stout Body, Mind and Spirit Conference

Abstract

The purpose of this research project was to determine the relationship between the UW-Stout Body, Mind and Spirit Conference and the complementary medicine movement through the use of a formal evaluation. This was the first formalized evaluation performed within the 5 years of the conference’s existence. The present evaluation defines the following: participant demographic information, sources of information on complementary health, reasons for attending the conference, satisfaction with the conference, and experiences and attitudes regarding complementary health practices. Information was gathered from mailed surveys, which were sent to all 190 participants of the 2000 UW-Stout Body, Mind and Spirit Conference. Surprisingly, 123 of these participants completed the survey, establishing a response rate of 65%. The demographics of the participants were comprised of mostly females (76.4%) and those from a Caucasian descent (89.3%). The majority of the participants were between the ages of 36 to 55 (64.7%). 83.4% of the participants reported to have at least four years of education beyond high school. Overall, conference participants reported a wide range of religious beliefs. The evaluation concluded that participants utilized several different sources for attaining information on complementary health practices. The UW-Stout Body, Mind, and Spirit conference was identified as being a source of information for CAM practices. Participants reported that the conference enabled them to meet the specific expectations which are identified within this evaluation. Conference satisfaction was indicated since 39% of the conference participants had attended previous conferences, while 96% of the participants reported that they would recommend the conference to others. It can be concluded that the UW-Stout Body, Mind and Spirit Conference is a successful CAM conference that provides personal growth, professional growth, new ways to enhance one’s own healthcare, new ways to enhance other’s healthcare, and CAM knowledge. The evaluation also identified the participant’s experiences and attitudes towards CAM. There were a wide range of CAM practices that were used by the participants, but overall 77% stated that they had integrated one or more CAM practices into their lifestyle. These findings are higher than the national average, which states that 42% of Americans use CAM (Berman, 2000). The participants also identified that they believed CAM benefits physical health (88.7%), mental health (81.9%), and spiritual health (86.8%). Almost half of the participants (49.6%) responded that they would most likely not consult their medical doctor before using CAM. The evaluation also identified that sex and age was an indicator of several significant differences among the participants. Females were more likely to report that they wished their medical clinic provided CAM. Meanwhile, males were more likely to consult a mainstream practitioner before using CAM. The youngest age group (18-25) reported that they were most likely to have integrated CAM into their lifestyle. Since there is a level of high satisfaction with the UW-Stout Body, Mind and Spirit Conference it is recommended that the conference remain similar in both design and implementation. Future conferences may incorporate discussions on how to improve caring relationships, women’s issues, buying and growing organic food, and ecological/environmental sustainability. It is also recommended that the conference initialize a formalized process to implement a yearly evaluation in order to identify and track the continually growing and changing population within the CAM movement.