Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Ge, Jin, BSE
• Fishman, Jessica, PhD
• Vapiwala, Neha, MD
• Li, Susan Q., MS
• Desai, Krupali, MD, MPH
• Xie, Sharon X., PhD
• Mao, Jun J., MD, MSCE

Titel

Patient-Physician Communication About Complementary and Alternative Medicine in a Radiation Oncology Setting

Ist Teil von

• International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics, 2013-01, Vol.85 (1), p.e1-e6

Ort / Verlag

United States: Elsevier Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

2013

Quelle

Elsevier ScienceDirect Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Purpose Despite the extensive use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among cancer patients, patient-physician communication regarding CAM therapies remains limited. This study quantified the extent of patient-physician communication about CAM and identified factors associated with its discussion in radiation therapy (RT) settings. Methods and Materials We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 305 RT patients at an urban academic cancer center. Patients with different cancer types were recruited in their last week of RT. Participants self-reported their demographic characteristics, health status, CAM use, patient-physician communication regarding CAM, and rationale for/against discussing CAM therapies with physicians. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify relationships between demographic/clinical variables and patients’ discussion of CAM with radiation oncologists. Results Among the 305 participants, 133 (43.6%) reported using CAM, and only 37 (12.1%) reported discussing CAM therapies with their radiation oncologists. In multivariate analyses, female patients (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.45, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.21-0.98) and patients with full-time employment (AOR 0.32, 95% CI 0.12-0.81) were less likely to discuss CAM with their radiation oncologists. CAM users (AOR 4.28, 95% CI 1.93-9.53) were more likely to discuss CAM with their radiation oncologists than were non-CAM users. Conclusions Despite the common use of CAM among oncology patients, discussions regarding these treatments occur rarely in the RT setting, particularly among female and full-time employed patients. Clinicians and patients should incorporate discussions of CAM to guide its appropriate use and to maximize possible benefit while minimizing potential harm.