Patterns of patient reluctance to receive complementary-medicine treatments in a hospital setting: A cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: We aim to characterize the patient population that exhibits reluctance to undergo complementary medicine (CM) treatments in a hospital setting. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional prospective study among patients prior to hospitalization using structured questionnaires in a single center in Israel. Participants were asked to rate their degree of consent to receiving CM treatments during hospitalization. RESULTS: The CM-reluctant group was 7.1 % of the study cohort. The CM modalities most commonly refused were spiritual guidance, acupuncture, and energy and healing therapies. The CM-reluctant population showed a weaker relation to spiritual content and tended to value complementary medicine's effectiveness less in comparison to the CM-consenting group. The main reason for reluctance was skepticism of the perceived effectiveness of CM. CONCLUSIONS: With skepticism playing a major role in decision making, we should question whether the Stakeholders in the field of CM and public health services are succeeding in explaining the benefits and risks of CM treatments.

Attitudes Among Nurses Toward the Integration of Complementary Medicine Into Supportive Cancer Care.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To explore the attitudes of nurses treating patients with cancer regarding the use of complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) therapies to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life (QOL). 
. DESIGN: Prospective and descriptive.
 
. SETTING: 12 hospital and community care settings in Israel. 
. SAMPLE: 973 nurses working in oncology and non-oncology departments.
. METHODS: A 26-item questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample of nurses treating patients with cancer. 
. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Interest in CIM integration and training in supportive cancer care.
. FINDINGS: Of the 973 nurses who completed the questionnaire, 934 expressed interest in integrating CIM into supportive cancer care. A logistic regression model indicated that nurses with a greater interest in integration tended to be older, believed that CIM improved patients' QOL, and had no structured postgraduate oncology training. Nurses who believed CIM to be beneficial for QOL-related outcomes were more likely to express interest in related training. The goals of such training include improving QOL-related outcomes, such as anxiety, insomnia, gastrointestinal symptoms, and pain. 
. CONCLUSIONS: Most nurses working with patients with cancer are interested in the integration of CIM into supportive cancer care. 
. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Most nurses would like to undergo training in CIM to supplement conventional care. CIM-trained integrative nurses can help promote the integration of patient-centered CIM therapies in supportive cancer care settings.