Advanced Practice Providers' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Utilization of Complementary and Integrative Medicine at an Academic Medical Center.

CONTEXT: Complementary and integrative medicine comprises treatments used along with conventional medical care. Its use within care settings and communities has increased. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to assess baseline knowledge and use of complementary and integrative medicine among advanced practice providers at an academic medical center and their attitudes toward it. METHODS: A 50-question survey was sent to 1018 advanced practice providers at our academic medical center to evaluate their knowledge, attitudes, and utilization of complementary and integrative medicine therapies. RESULTS: The 556 respondents (54.6% response rate) included physician assistants, nurse practitioners, certified registered nurse anesthetists, clinical nurse specialists, and certified nurse midwives. Respondents reported a positive attitude toward complementary and integrative medicine and were likely to refer their patients to a complementary and integrative medicine practitioner (59%). They agreed that patients whose providers incorporate complementary and integrative medicine into their care have better clinical outcomes (nurse practitioners, 93%; certified registered nurse anesthetists, 87%; physician assistants, 85%; P = .002) and improved patient satisfaction (all respondents, 84%). Advanced practice providers, especially nurse practitioners, stated that they initiate the conversation to discuss the benefits and harms of complementary and integrative medicine with their patients (nurse practitioners, 93%; certified registered nurse anesthetists, 87%; physician assistants, 85%; P < .001). Respondents most frequently endorsed overall exercise, massage, and melatonin. Prospective randomized controlled trials were the most influential factor for attitude toward complementary and integrative medicine among physician assistants (50%), and personal experience was the most influential factor among nurse practitioners (52.9%) and certified registered nurse anesthetists (46.8%). CONCLUSIONS: Advanced practice providers generally have positive attitudes toward complementary and integrative medicine, but utilization appears limited by a self-report of low knowledge of benefits and risks of various therapies. For patient safety and satisfaction, advanced practice providers require a strong complementary and integrative medicine knowledge base to counsel patients.

Patterns and energy expenditure of free-living physical activity in adolescents with sickle cell anemia.

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to examine the relationship between physical activity (PA), PA-associated energy expenditure (PAEE), and total daily energy expenditure (TEE) in free-living adolescents with sickle-cell anemia (SCA). STUDY DESIGN: Adolescents with SCA (n = 28) were matched for sex and age with 22 healthy control participants. PA was measured for 6 to 8 consecutive days with a triaxial accelerometer and resting energy expenditure (REE) by whole-room indirect calorimetry. TEE was calculated by summing PAEE and REE. RESULTS: TEE was similar, REE was higher (difference, 209 kcal x day(-1); P =.0001), and PAEE was lower (difference, 657 kcal x day(-1); P <.001) in patients with SCA than in control participants. In SCA, there was a positive linear relationship between PAEE and hemoglobin concentration (r (2) = 0.583). Time spent in PA of moderate and high intensity was lower in patients with SCA than in control participants (18 +/- 22 vs 48 +/- 31 min/d; P <.0001). CONCLUSION: In adolescents with SCA under free-living conditions, there is a significant intra and interindividual variability in the amount of PA, PAEE, and PA patterns. Because of a lower PAEE and a higher REE, TEE is similar in adolescents with SCA and healthy adolescents. An association of PAEE with hemoglobin concentration may be a part of an energy saving compensatory mechanism in SCA.