Attitudes and barriers towards participation in an acupuncture trial among breast cancer patients: a survey study.
BMC Complement Altern Med
; 14: 7, 2014 Jan 08.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-24400734
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
As breast cancer patients increasingly use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), clinical trials are needed to guide appropriate clinical use. We sought to identify socio-demographic, clinical and psychological factors related to willingness to participate (WTP) and to determine barriers to participation in an acupuncture clinical trial among breast cancer patients.METHODS:
We conducted a cross-sectional survey study among post-menopausal women with stage I-III breast cancer on aromatase inhibitors at an urban academic cancer center.RESULTS:
Of the 300 participants (92% response rate), 148 (49.8%) reported WTP in an acupuncture clinical trial. Higher education (p = 0.001), increased acupuncture expectancy (p < 0.001), and previous radiation therapy (p = 0.004) were significantly associated with WTP. Travel difficulty (p = 0.002), concern with experimentation (p = 0.013), and lack of interest in acupuncture (p < 0.001) were significant barriers to WTP. Barriers differed significantly by socio-demographic factors with white people more likely to endorse travel difficulty (p = 0.018) and non-white people more likely to report concern with experimentation (p = 0.024). Older patients and those with lower education were more likely to report concern with experimentation and lack of interest in acupuncture (p < 0.05).CONCLUSIONS:
Although nearly half of the respondents reported WTP, significant barriers to participation exist and differ among subgroups. Research addressing these barriers is needed to ensure effective accrual and improve the representation of individuals from diverse backgrounds.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Patient Participation
/
Breast Neoplasms
/
Acupuncture Therapy
/
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
/
Data Collection
/
Clinical Trials as Topic
/
Refusal to Participate
Type of study:
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Qualitative_research
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Middle aged
Language:
En
Journal:
BMC Complement Altern Med
Journal subject:
TERAPIAS COMPLEMENTARES
Year:
2014
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States