Complementary and alternative medicine use and disclosure amongst Australian radiotherapy patients

Hunter, Darren; Oates, Richard; Gawthrop, Janet; Bishop, Michelle; Gill, Suki

doi:10.1007/s00520-014-2120-8

Cited by 26 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…44 % reported using more than 1 CM therapy. X X Hunter et al, 2014 [ 37 ] Cross sectional survey Radiotherapy patients 152 6 45.4 % CM users. Higher CM use in females & Caucasians.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complementary medicine use by the Australian population: a critical mixed studies systematic review of utilisation, perceptions and factors associated with use

Reid

Steel

Wardle

et al. 2016

BMC Complement Altern Med

189

152

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BackgroundThere is increasing evidence that complementary medicine (CM) services are being used by a substantial proportion of the Australian population and this topic has attracted keen interest from primary health care providers and policy makers. This article outlines the first summative critical review of the predictors of CM use in Australia as well as the characteristics and perceptions of Australian CM users over the last 14 years.MethodsA literature search was conducted to ascertain original research from 2000 to 2014 in the AMED; CINAHL; and PubMed databases. Selected articles were subject to a critical appraisal analysis to identify the quality of the article. The search was confined to peer reviewed original articles published in English which identified the nature of CM services use in Australia.ResultsThe findings indicate a correlation between CM users and gender, with reports of a higher rate of use from females compared to males. Female CM users are more likely to be middle-aged with a higher education and higher annual income in comparison to female non-CM users. An association between resident location and use of CM disciplines was also identified with reports of rural residents utilising manual therapies more frequently compared to urban residents. CM users are more likely to seek CM services for a range of chronic conditions including diseases identified as National Health Priority Areas by the Australian Government.ConclusionsThis article provides the first comprehensive review examining the nature of CM use in Australia. The review findings offer important insights into the characteristics and features of CM use in Australia and provide insights for national and regional primary health care initiatives and of interest to medical doctors, allied health professionals, CM practitioners, researchers and policy makers.

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“…44 % reported using more than 1 CM therapy. X X Hunter et al, 2014 [ 37 ] Cross sectional survey Radiotherapy patients 152 6 45.4 % CM users. Higher CM use in females & Caucasians.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complementary medicine use by the Australian population: a critical mixed studies systematic review of utilisation, perceptions and factors associated with use

Reid

Steel

Wardle

et al. 2016

BMC Complement Altern Med

189

152

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, it is important to note that the use of CAM products might be associated with hazardous health risks related to their adverse effects, improper dosage or quality of the products (eg, contamination, misidentification or lack of standardisation) 9. These risks could be amplified due to the low rate of disclosure to healthcare providers for fear of their disapproval, disinterest or inability to help 10–13. Such lack of professional supervision may further expose the consumer to various risks, including adverse reactions or interactions with conventional drugs 6 14 15…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beliefs, practices and knowledge of community pharmacists regarding complementary and alternative medicine: national cross-sectional study in Lebanon

et al. 2019

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IntroductionPharmacists are uniquely positioned to provide patients with evidence-based information in order to ensure effective and safe use of Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) products.ObjectiveAssess beliefs, practices and knowledge related to CAM products among community pharmacists in Lebanon.Design, methods and settingUsing stratified random sampling, a nationally representative survey was conducted among community pharmacists in Lebanon. Through face-to-face interviews, pharmacists completed a multicomponent questionnaire consisting of four sections: (1) sociodemographic characteristics; (2) beliefs related to regulation of CAM products, role of media in promoting their safe use, availability of resources and continuing education; (3) practices including selling CAM products, providing advice for patients and reporting adverse effects and (4) knowledge about specific CAM products, their uses, side effects and interactions.ResultsA total of 341 pharmacists agreed to participate (response rate: 86%). Only pharmacists with complete data were included in this study (n=310). Pharmacists agreed that CAM products are effective (63.8%) and that they should be exclusively sold in pharmacies (80.3%), but disagreed that commercially marketed CAM products are well regulated (63.5%) and that media plays a positive role in educating users about these products (55.8%). As for practices, 64.5% of pharmacists were always or often advising patients on safe use; however, 74.2% of participants rarely or never reported adverse effects. Regarding knowledge, although the majority of pharmacists were aware of the uses of CAM products, fewer knew about their side effects and their interactions with drugs. After adjustment for covariates, receiving education/training on CAM products during university was the sole predictor of higher knowledge score (ß=0.68, 95% CI 0.29 to 1.07).ConclusionsThis study revealed positive beliefs of pharmacists in Lebanon towards CAM products and indicated important gaps in their practice and knowledge. Deliberate efforts to enhance the education of pharmacists are warranted to ensure the safe integration and use of CAM products in Lebanon.

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“…Early cases are usually treated with either surgery or RT, where locally-advanced primary carcinoma of the H&N are treated with RT, often combined with chemotherapy [ 1 ]. Following the introduction of hyper-fractionation schedules of RT and technological improvements like intensity modulated RT (IMRT), higher tumor dose and reduction of some toxicity endpoints, such as xerostomia [ 2 ], can be achieved but the toxicity remains substantial [ 3 , 4 ]. In 2000, Pignon et al [ 5 ] published a three meta-analyses study, which showed that combining RT with simultaneous chemotherapy on average results in an 8 % absolute increase of the overall 2-years survival.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Status quo and directions in deep head and neck hyperthermia

2016

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The benefit of hyperthermia as a potent modifier of radiotherapy has been well established and more recently also the combination with chemotherapy was shown beneficial. Also for head and neck cancer, the impact of hyperthermia has been clinically demonstrated by a number of clinical trials. Unfortunately, the technology applied in these studies provided only limited thermal dose control, and the devices used only allowed treatment of target regions close to the skin. Over the last decade, we developed the technology for deep and controlled hyperthermia that allows treatment of the entire head and neck region. Our strategy involves focused microwave heating combined with 3D patient-specific electromagnetic and thermal simulations for conformal, reproducible and adaptive hyperthermia application. Validation of our strategy has been performed by 3D thermal dose assessment based on invasively placed temperature sensors combined with the 3D patient specific simulations. In this paper, we review the phase III clinical evidence for hyperthermia in head and neck tumors, as well as the heating and dosimetry technology applied in these studies. Next, we describe the development, clinical implementation and validation of 3D guided deep hyperthermia with the HYPERcollar, and its second generation, i.e. the HYPERcollar3D. Lastly, we discuss early clinical results and provide an outlook for this technology.

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Complementary and alternative medicine use and disclosure amongst Australian radiotherapy patients

Cited by 26 publications

References 23 publications

Complementary medicine use by the Australian population: a critical mixed studies systematic review of utilisation, perceptions and factors associated with use

Complementary medicine use by the Australian population: a critical mixed studies systematic review of utilisation, perceptions and factors associated with use

Beliefs, practices and knowledge of community pharmacists regarding complementary and alternative medicine: national cross-sectional study in Lebanon

Status quo and directions in deep head and neck hyperthermia

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