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The caregiver burden in Turkish family caregivers was found mild to moderate and correlated with the degree of frailty. Policymakers should focus on culture-specific formal caregiver services.

In Turkey, between 22.1% and 84.1% of patients with cancer use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). However, few CAM-related studies have focused on the perspective of oncology nurses. This study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of Turkish oncology nurses regarding CAM. A descriptive cross-sectional survey of 127 participants was conducted in Ankara, Turkey. A semistructured questionnaire including characteristics, knowledge, attitudes, and practices of oncology nurses toward CAM was administered to participants. We found that more than half of nurses (54.0%) surveyed had no information on CAM modalities. Most oncology nurses (81.1%) used audiovisual media sources to obtain CAM information. Many nurses (81.3%) reported not using any CAM in cancer care, and only 26.8% recommended CAM to patients. Most nurses used CAM to accelerate wound healing (19.7%) and to manage symptoms, including constipation and diarrhea (8.8%) and anxiety (7.9%). Music (52.8%), massage (49.6%), and exercise (48.8%) were stated to be beneficial. Important barriers to use CAM for patients with cancer involved a lack of knowledge (60.6%); needing physician approval to apply any CAM methods to patients (52.1%); legal and institutional issues (47.2%); and limited educational, training, or certificate programs (44.1%). There is a need for increased knowledge about CAM by oncology nurses, considering their vital role in symptom management of patients with cancer. This can be achieved through solving legal and institutional problems, structured and comprehensive education/training programs, and the integration of CAM therapy into cancer care guidelines.

Purpose To examine the effects of progressive muscle relaxation and mindfulness meditation on the severity of diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain (DPNP), fatigue, and quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes. Design An assessor‐blinded prospective randomized controlled trial. Methods Participants were randomly assigned to the relaxation group (RG; n = 28), meditation group (MG; n = 25), or control group (CG; n = 24). The mean age of participants was 64.2 ± 8.1 years in the RG, 61.6 ± 8.0 years in the MG, and 64.1± 6.6 years in the CG. Patients in the intervention groups performed progressive muscle relaxation or mindfulness meditation at their home for 12 weeks, 20 min daily. The CG received only an attention‐matched controlled education on pancreas anatomy and diabetes. Data collection was performed at baseline and at weeks 12 and 14 using the VAS, FACIT Fatigue Scale (FACIT‐F), and Neuropathic Pain Impact on Quality of Life Questionnaire (NePIQoL). Findings VAS scores were significantly lower in the RG and MG at week 12 (p < .05) and were statistically significant in the RG at week 14. Additionally, fatigue severity decreased significantly in the RG at weeks 12 and 14, compared to that in the CG (p < .05). While no significant difference was found in the quality of life scores between the study groups at weeks 12 and 14 (p > .05), a significant improvement in quality of life scores in the RG were provided at week 12 compared to those at baseline and week 14 (p < .05). Conclusions Both progressive muscle relaxation and mindfulness meditation had a positive impact on providing pain relief in patients with DPNP. Moreover, progressive muscle relaxation also appeared to have a beneficial effect on fatigue. Clinical Relevance Based on the results, progressive muscle relaxation and mindfulness meditation can be recommended as supportive therapies for the management of DPNP.

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