Complementary Alternative Therapies Research Articles

Complementary alternative medicine and nuclear medicine therapy and diagnosis

Complementary alternative medicine and nuclear medicine therapy and diagnosis

Nurse attitudes towards the use of complementary and alternative therapies in critical care

Background There is increasing demand for complementary/alternative therapies (CAT) in critical care, however, critical care nurses’ perspectives regarding CAT are unknown. Objectives This study was conducted to determine critical care nurses’ knowledge, attitudes, and use of CAT. Sample/setting A total of 348 critical care registered nurses working at least 40% in medical, surgical, cardiac, neurological, and pediatric ICUs at 2 tertiary-level hospitals in a large Midwestern city were surveyed. One hospital is a 926-bed private, urban hospital and the second is an 1868-bed academic-affiliated medical center. Methods A survey was distributed to all critical care nurses described above. Results The level of knowledge reported by 138 nurse respondents was greatest for diet, exercise, massage, prayer, and music therapy. Use of therapies was related to knowledge and training and consistent with beliefs of legitimacy and perceptions of beneficial effects. Despite barriers including lack of knowledge, time, and training, 88% of respondents were open or eager to use CAT, and 60% reported moderate or greater desire to use CAT. Conclusions Critical care nurses are open to CAT use and many use them in their own practice. Because use was associated with knowledge, recommendations for future research include increasing the scientific base and enhancing knowledge to promote evidence-based incorporation of CAT in practice.

The Application of Therapeutic Massage for Low Back Pain

Summary The incidence of low back pain in the United States continues to increase, with four out of five adults experiencing low back pain in their lifetime. This poses a substantial cost to consumers and insurers alike. With more people seeking complementary alternative medicine as a means to a cost-effective treatment, the scientific community is seeking to study the efficacy of these treatments. Approximately $21.2 billion was spent on complementary alternative medicine therapies in 1997. Massage therapy is rapidly becoming a notable part of the complementary approach continuum. To recognize the contribution of massage therapy, a deeper understanding of its approaches and limitations must be clearly delineated. Research into therapeutic massage is limited by lack of a uniform definition of low back pain, lack of a uniform definition of what constitutes massage therapy, difficulty in blinding studies, and variable outcome measures. Despite these research limitations, those studies that have been completed have supported the safe and effective application of massage modalities. To initiate the interface between allopathic physicians and massage therapists, an understanding of the scope of practice, components of safe practice, general precautions and contraindications, and massage techniques with associated benefits must be described thoroughly. To provide a clear example of the application of massage to low back pain, one protocol has been selected as representative. A working relationship between the physician and the massage therapist is good for their patients/clients, which in turn is good medicine for the changing trends in health care provision.

The use of complementary alternative medicine therapies for the treatment of asthma: Within the inner city minority population

The use of complementary alternative medicine therapies for the treatment of asthma: Within the inner city minority population

Nurse practitioner knowledge of complementary alternative health care: foundation for practice.

With the increasing use of complementary alternative treatments by the general public in the United States of America (USA), it is critical that nurse practitioners have the most up-to-date information about the use and safety of these modalities. A strong knowledge base is crucial in delivering competent and culturally sensitive care, yet the level and source of nurse practitioner knowledge in this area is largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the level and source of nurse practitioner knowledge of complementary alternative health care practices, as well as their referral practices involving these treatments. Using a cross-sectional descriptive research design, a sample of 151 nurse practitioners from Missouri and Oregon completed an adapted version of Sapp's self-administered survey that explored these issues. Evaluation of the psychometric properties of the adapted instrument demonstrated good face validity, test-retest reliability (kappa = 0.81) and internal consistency reliability were 0.90 and 0.92 for two subscales with continuous response categories. Eighty-three percent of the nurse practitioners recommended complementary alternative treatments to their patients with the most frequent being massage therapy, chiropractic care, acupuncture or acupressure, nutritional therapy and herbal treatment. However, only 24% reported that formal nurse practitioner education was a source of knowledge about these treatments. Instead, over 60% relied on their personal experiences for this knowledge, as well as lay and professional journals. Nearly 9 out of 10 nurse practitioners recommend the use of complementary alternative therapies to patients, but their source of knowledge is not derived from professional education. Attention needs to be given to increasing content about complementary alternative therapies in formal academic programs, professional conferences and in-service education opportunities.

Gynecology: Integrating Conventional, Complementary, and Natural Alternative Therapy

Gynecology: Integrating Conventional, Complementary, and Natural Alternative Therapy

Doing what comes ‘naturally’

The chances are that you, or someone close to you, uses a form of complementary medicine or alternative therapy. The extraordinary growth in the popularity of such approaches raises the question of why they tend to receive only scant coverage in TiPS and related titles. This neglect has mainly been due to the paucity of research reports on these topics appearing in the mainstream journals. But now one institution is aiming to change that situation. In a packed Symposium at last month's Experimental Biology Meeting in Orlando, Stephen Straus, Director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), issued a call to arms to biomedical researchers. NCCAM is already funding several research centres and multicentre trials, but with a research allocation of $89.1 m for 2001, Straus emphasized their desire to see more proposals. US Government funding for research on these topics has increased 50-fold in the past decade. In addition to distributing these new research funds, NCCAM is spearheading changes such as the inclusion, from February, of articles relating to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) on PubMed. Next on the agenda is the thorny issue of how to raise industrial interest in backing CAM research, given the lack of market incentives. An NCCAM-sponsored Colloquium on the topic, to be held on 14 May 2001 in Washington DC, should at least get the interested parties talking. AS

Complementary Medicine Congress Draws a Crowd

ALTERNATIVE medical practices are edging their way into the US health care system. If anyone remained unaware of this movement (<i>N Engl J Med</i>. 1993;328:246-252 and 282-283), the proceedings at the first International Congress on Alternative and Complementary Medicine, held in Arlington, Va, would have enlightened them. Legislative moves (both federal and state), steps to ensure access to alternative (or complementary or unconventional) medical therapies, and a long list of alternative medical practices including homeopathy, massage, spiritual healing, special diets, relaxation techniques, and more were discussed by nearly 200 speakers during the 4-day conference. The event is a reflection of public interest in the topic. During the first session, it was announced that from now on the congress would be an annual affair. It was organized by Mary Ann Liebert, publisher of the<i>Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine</i>and<i>Alternative Complementary Therapies</i>. The first is a peer-reviewed journal edited