title: Nurses' attitudes to the use of alternative medicine in cancer patients.
abstract: This study reports results from a questionnaire study on nurses' attitudes to and experiences with alternative medicine, especially related to cancer patients' use of alternative medicine. Sixty nurses from a department of oncology and haematology participated in the study. The response rate was 62%. The nurses primarily perceived the use of alternative medicine as an individual choice which the nurses wanted to support. Sixty-three percent of the nurses indicated that alternative medicine could be useful in the treatment of cancer patients, 32% would sometimes suggest alternative medicine to the patients, and 20% used alternative medicine in their nursing. One-third of the nurses had experienced conflict in connection with alternative medicine and their patients, mostly when established treatment was delayed or refused in favour of alternative medicine. Fifty-three percent of the nurses had tried alternative medicine themselves. This study reveals that nurses are in an ambiguous and complex situation: they are simultaneously professionals in the established health care system, caregivers supporting the patients, and individuals using alternative medicine.
authors.affiliation: Oncological Research Centre, Odense, Denmark.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Damkier
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Elverdam
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Glasdam
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rose
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D009859:Oncology Nursing; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires