Adverse Reaction Type Ninety-four respondents provided details of the adverse reaction type . The most common adverse reaction type was aggravation of symptoms , which was reported by 24 out of 94 ( 25.5 %) of respondents , followed by 17 ( 18.1 %) respondents who reported gastrointestinal reaction . A total of 10 ( 10.6 %) respondents reported bruising ( see Table 5.1 ). Per discipline , aggravation of symptoms was suspected by 35.7 % ( 5 out of 14 ) of Registered Professional respondents , followed by 26.7 % ( 8 out of 30 ) of Physical Medicine respondents and 23.7 % ( 9 out of 38 ) of Ingestive Medicine respondents . Gastrointestinal adverse reactions were suspected by 31.6 % ( 12 out of 38 ) of Ingestive Medicine respondents . There was only one respondent from the ‘ Other ’ discipline category . They reported the adverse reaction type as skin reaction .
Table 5.1 Adverse Reaction Type
Adverse Reaction Type n (%) Aggravation of symptoms 24 ( 25.5 ) Anxiety 2 ( 2.1 ) Bruising 10 ( 10.6 ) Feeling faint / light headed 3 ( 3.2 ) Gastrointestinal reaction 17 ( 18.1 ) Headache 7 ( 7.5 ) Muscle soreness 11 ( 11.7 ) Other please describe 12 ( 12.8 ) Skin reaction 8 ( 8.5 ) Total 94 ( 100 )
Respondents were able to provide openended responses about which modality they thought had caused the adverse reaction . The most common modalities reported in these responses were herbal medicine , massage , naturopathy and acupuncture . A few respondents listed chiropractic . Of the 99 reported clients with suspected adverse reactions , three needed referrals to see a medical practitioner .
Figure 6.1 Percentage of Natural Therapists Vaccinate Against COVID19
Percentage
90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Physical Medicine
Ingestive Medicine
No
Energetic Medicine
Yes
6 . Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic The majority ( 68.2 %, 941 out of 1379 ) of natural therapists were double vaccinated against COVID-19 , 18.6 % ( 256 out of 1379 ) were not and 13.2 % ( 182 out of 1379 ) said they preferred not to say ( see Figure 6.1 ).
Three quarters ( 75.9 %, 1044 out of 1376 ) of respondents said that business had been affected ( positively or negatively ) by the COVID-19 pandemic . Figure 6.2 depicts the impact of COVID-19 on business for each discipline area .
Open-Ended Responses about the impact of COVID Respondents were invited to write short open-ended responses regarding how
Registered Profession
Figure 6 .. 2 Impact of COVID-19 on Business by Discipline Category *
Mind-body Medicine
* Forty-two out of 1273 respondents who answered the question about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their business diagnostic tests nominated their primary discipline as ‘ Other ’. Of those 81 % ( 34 out of 42 ) reported an impact and 19.1 % ( 8 out of 42 ) reported no impact . This category has not been represented in Figure 6.2 .
the COVID-19 pandemic affected their business . A wide range of experiences were reported by respondents , which can be described in three main themes : number of clients , mandates , and change to delivery of health care ( i . e ., changing to online or telehealth consultations ).
i ) Number of Clients Many respondents stated that they lost clients throughout the pandemic , particularly in areas with extended lockdowns . For some , these clients had returned . However , some practitioners said that their clients could no longer afford to pay for treatments . Others said there were more short-notice cancellations when clients contracted COVID or were close contacts to others who had . In contrast , many practitioners
76 | vol30 | no2 | JATMS