title: Assessing patient adherence to a complementary medicine treatment regimen in an integrative supportive care setting.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Patients with cancer are frequently turning to complementary medicine (CM), often with the goal of improving quality of life outcomes. The purpose of the present study was to assess the adherence of patients referred by oncology practitioners to a CM consultation and treatment program.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective registry protocol-based, preference study was conducted at a conventional oncology department. Patients undergoing chemotherapy were referred by participating oncology practitioners to a CM-trained integrative physician (IP) for consultation. Adherence to the integrative care (AIC) program was defined as attendance by patients at ≥4 CM treatment sessions, with an interval of no more than 30 days between each session.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 282 patients were referred by the study health-care professionals (HCPs), of whom 243 (85.8%) were eventually seen by the study IP. Of these, 160 were found to be adherent to the treatment plan (AIC group), and 83 were nonadherent (non-AIC group). No significant differences were found between the two groups with respect to demographic characteristics, medical history, site of malignancy and/or recurrence, chemotherapy regimen, or severity of symptoms at baseline. The AIC group reported significantly greater rates of CM use for noncancer-related indications than the non-AIC group (EXP(B)=2.174, 95% confidence interval (C.I.)=1.1–4.295, p =0.025). Patients in the non-AIC group were referred more frequently by their HCP for gastrointestinal concerns than those in the AIC group (p =0.022).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Previous use of CM for noncancer-related outcomes was found to be predictive of patient adherence to a CM treatment regimen provided within conventional oncology service.
authors.forename: Eran
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ben-Arye
authors.forename: Dikla
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kruger
authors.forename: Noah
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Samuels
authors.forename: Lital
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Keinan-Boker
authors.forename: Tamar
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shalom
authors.forename: Elad
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schiff
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D055048:Integrative Medicine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*