title: Nurses' perceptions of complementary and alternative medical therapies.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of nurses toward the effectiveness and safety, as well as their recommendations for and personal use of complementary and alternative medical therapies. A, random sample of 1000 nurses throughout the United States were surveyed using a three-wave mailing. About half of the respondents perceived there was conclusive evidence or preponderance of evidence that five therapies were effective: biofeedback, chiropractic, meditation/relaxation, multi-vitamins, and massage therapy. The same amount of nurses also perceived five therapies as definitely safe: hypnotherapy, chiropractic, acupressure, acupuncture, and healing touch. However, the nurses were most likely to recommend (regularly or periodically) four therapies: multivitamins, massage, meditation/relaxation, and pastoral/spiritual counseling. The vast majority (79%) of nurses perceived their professional preparation in this area to be fair or poor.
authors.affiliation: Sports Care & Welltrack, Toledo Hospital, OH 43606, USA.
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Brolinson
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ditmyer
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Reis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000145:classification / Q000592:standards*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019359:Knowledge; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011177:Postal Service; D011364:Professional Practice; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012449:Safety; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States