Prevalence and parental perceptions of complementary and alternative medicine use by children with cancer in a multi-ethnic Southeast Asian population (original) (raw)
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Use of complementary and alternativemedicine for children A parents’perspective
Objectives: The present study aims to detect the frequency and types of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies used for children and to explore parental motivating factors for using CAM for their children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Participants and methods: This is a cross-sectional study that involved 462 families selected through a multistage cluster-sampling technique covering Riyadh region, Saudi Arabia. The sample was selected from 40 clusters, distributed proportionally according to the size of the population in the catchment area of primary health care centres (PHCCs). A structured questionnaire that contains items fulfilling the research objectives was used to collect data by research assistants. Results: The study included 926 parents, comprising 351 fathers and 575 mothers; 37.3% of them reported the use of CAM for their children including reciting the Quran, honey and Ferula asafoetida (26.1%, 21.5% and 18.8%, respectively). CAM was used six times higher for children of parents using CAM for themselves than children of parents who did not use CAM themselves (odds ratio (OR) = 6.03, 3.9-9.37). Multivariate logistic regression showed that parental use of CAM (OR = 3.0, 2.2-4.0), keeping CAM remedies at home (OR = 2.3, 1.8-3.1), perceived success of CAM in practice (OR = 1.8, 1.3-2.4) and preference of use of natural materials (OR = 1.7, 1.2-2.5) were independent predictors of use of CAM for children. Conclusions: In this study, around one-third of the parents used CAM for their children. Quran (Muslims' holy book) was the most common CAM type used for children. Parents' use of CAM for themselves is the most important predictor of its use for children. An in-depth study to investigate CAM use for specific diseases in children is recommended.
Parental attitudes toward pediatric use of complementary/alternative medicine in Turkey
Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing, 2017
This study was conducted to determine the pediatric usage of complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) by parents in Turkey, the incidence of using these methods, and the factors affecting their use. Design and Methods: The sectional and relational design of the study included a sample of 497 parents who took children for treatment at the Maternity and Children's Hospital in Giresun, Turkey. Data for the study were collected via the Personal Information Form and the Evaluation Form for Complementary/Alternative Treatment Use. The data collection tools were filled out by the researchers during the face-to-face interviews. Data obtained from the study were analyzed by Pearson chi-square, Fisher-Freeman-Halton and Fisher's exact (posthoc Bonferroni) tests and Z-test. Results: It was determined that 97.7% of the parents had used at least one CAM method. Moreover, the parents had used CAM methods mostly for respiratory complaints. The CAM methods were most commonly used for the symptoms of fever, diarrhea, and cough. It was observed that the most commonly used alternative methods in the past were vitamin/mineral remedies, cold treatments, and hodja (Islamic teacher) consultations, while the most common alternative methods currently used are massage, music, and cold treatment. In addition, the differences found between CAM users in terms of sociodemographic characteristics were not statistically significant. Practice Implications: : It is crucial for nurses to learn the characteristics of the health/disease treatments used by those with whom they work in order to increase the efficiency of the service they provide. Thus, it was recommended that nurses should be knowledgeable and aware of the benefits/side effects, treatment methods, and contraindications of CAM. K E Y W O R D S child, children's health, complementary/alternative medicine, nursing, parent 1 INTRODUCTION "Treatment approaches which are not approved by modern medicine or which are performed as complementary to the medial treatment" are defined as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments (Tuncel et al., 2014). Although CAM concepts are mentioned together, they actually differ in many ways. Alternative medicine can refer to "the use of other methods instead of scientific medical treatments," and complementary medicine can be described as "the use of alternative medicine products and methods as complementary to medical treatment protocols" (
Mothers’ Attitudes toward the Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Children with Cancer
International Journal of Cancer Management, 2020
Background: Children who have cancer suffer from a wide range of symptoms and side-effects of disease and treatment, and such conditions have harmful effects on the quality of life of a child and family. So, the families of such children turn to complementary and alternative medicine treatments for children with cancer. Objectives: Therefore, this study aimed at determining the mothers’ attitudes toward the use of complementary and alternative medicine in children with cancer. Methods: This cross-sectional research was conducted from January 2018 to January 2019 in the oncology section of Yazd Shahid Sadooghi Hospital in a nonrandom and convenience sampling method on 150 mothers of children with cancer. The instruments of data collection include demographic information questionnaires and a 6-part questionnaire to evaluate mothers’ performance. To investigate the face and content validity of the questionnaire, the opinions of 10 experts were considered, and to investigate the reliabi...
Bagcilar Medical Bulletin, 2020
Nowadays, there are compelling data on the increase in traditional and complementary medicine practices in adults. Although the use of complementary medicine practices in children is frequently observed, studies on children are more limited in this subject. Studies on children mostly include those with chronic diseases. Our study aimed to evaluate the use of traditional and complementary medicine therapies in children without chronic diseases and parents' knowledge. Method: The study was conducted at Bağcılar Training and Research Hospital Pediatric Clinic between 1 December 2018 and 28 February 2019. In the study, 200 patients in the 0-15 age group without any known chronic diseases were included. A questionnaire form was applied to either mothers or fathers of the patients, and the practices they performed in traditional medicine, their knowledge, and experience, and their socioeconomic-cultural status were questioned. Results: In our study, which evaluated the use of traditional and complementary medicine methods in children without chronic diseases, 95.5% of the children had a history of the use of at least one complementary medicine method. The use of herbal tea was the most preferred complementary medicine method (68.8%). Other methods were the use of immune boosters, prayers, massage, nutrition-diet, acupuncture, and music. More than half of the patients (56%) had heard or learned about complementary medicine methods from their family elders. The rate of those who had learned about them from the media was determined to be 14%, and the rate of those who had learned from Amaç: Günümüzde, yetişkinlerde geleneksel ve tamamlayıcı tıp uygulamalarının artması ile ilgili ilgi çekici veriler mevcuttur. Bu konuda çocuklarda yapılan çalışmalar daha sınırlı olmakla birlikte, tamamlayıcı tıp uygulamalarının çocuklarda kullanımı sıklıkla görülmektedir. Çocuklardaki çalışmalar daha çok kronik hastalığı olanları kapsamaktadır. Çalışmamızda kronik hastalığı olmayan çocuklarda geleneksel ve tamamlayıcı tıp tedavilerinin kullanımı ve ebeveyn bilgilerinin değerlendirilmesi amaçlanmıştır.
Complementary therapy and care to relieve pediatric cancer therapy-related symptoms in Thailand
2011
Patients undergoing treatment for cancer, whether it includes chemotherapy and/or radiation, experience many side effects that are linked to the treatment. The specific purposes of this study were to examine (a) what Thai parents report they do to help alleviate symptoms that the child experiences during cancer therapy; and (b) what categories of dependent care and/or complementary therapies were those methods reported. Orem's self-care/dependent-care concept was used to guide the analysis of the care pediatric patients received. Secondary analysis was done of data collected from a larger study at the National Children's Hospital in Thailand. The sample included children ages 5-17 years (N=100). Of the 100 patients, 71 were male and 29 female; while 75 patients were 5-11 years old, and 25 patients 12-17 years old. Cancer diagnoses can be divided into the following: 63% leukemia, 12% nervous system tumors, 10% solid tumors, 6% lymphoma, and 9% Other. The 34-item Therapy-Related Symptom Checklist for Children (TRSC-C) was used to record patients' symptom occurrence/severity (0, no symptom; 4, "A whole lot"); and the Symptom Alleviation: Self-Care Methods (SA:SCM) tool was used to identify methods parents used to alleviate chemotherapy-related symptoms. To address the study purposes, descriptive data and content analyses were done. Symptom occurrence of 16 symptoms were reported by 45% or more of patients; and mean severity "2", or "Quite a bit" of the top five reported symptoms included hair loss, nausea, vomiting, fever, loss of appetite. Of the six categories of self/dependent-care methods/complementary therapies, all were found useful; and, Diet/nutrition/life-style and Mind/Body Control were the most utilized. Assessing patient/parent-reported symptoms and use of self/dependent care and complementary therapies help Thai families cope during pediatric cancer treatments.
Exploration of the use of complementary and alternative medicine among Turkish children
Journal of Clinical Nursing, 2008
Aims and objectives. This study explored the use of complementary and alternative medicine among Turkish children and the factors affecting their use. Background. Estimates of CAM use in children range from 9-70%. Most studies of CAM use in Turkey have focussed on adults. No study has been reported on the use of CAM in Turkish children without specific diagnosed illnesses. Design. Survey. Methods. A questionnaire was completed with the parents of 600 children attending the paediatric clinics of three hospitals in western Turkey. Information about CAM use and factors affecting its use among children and their parents was collected by interview using a structured questionnaire. Results. A majority of parents (57%) used CAM therapies for their child, with herbal therapy used most frequently (77%). The use rate of CAM was 49% for children with respiratory system problems and 25% for children with digestive system problems. Fifty-nine per cent of parents stated that they used CAM to comfort their children and 25% to support prescribed medical therapy. The most frequent recommendation to use CAM came from one or more family members (55%). Parents who were university graduates, lived in the city, had one child and had used this type of therapy themselves were more inclined to use CAM for their children. There was no reported use of therapies such as chiropractic, naturopathy or acupuncture. Conclusion. There is frequent use of CAM among Turkish children and it is viewed as additional to treatment prescribed by physicians. Relevance to clinical practice. Most often, parents do not discuss CAM use with doctors or nurses. Health professionals should routinely ask parents about CAM use and discuss the reasons and expected outcomes of use. Only through such discussion can health professionals understand and respect parents' use of CAM for their children and guide them in their choices.
Cancer, 2014
Children with cancer in high-income and low-income countries often use traditional complementary/alternative medicine (TCAM). With efforts by the World Health Organization and international twinning programs improving access to conventional care for patients with childhood cancer, understanding the global use of TCAM is important because reliance on TCAM may affect time to presentation, adherence, and abandonment of care. In the current study, the authors describe the process and validation of an international survey documenting the use of TCAM among children with cancer. The survey was designed to collect information on TCAM use and associated factors through both open-ended and close-ended questions. During the period between June 2012 and December 2013, the survey was administered to 300 children and adolescents (or their parents) who were undergoing treatment for cancer at a collaborating institution located in Mexico, Uruguay, and Nicaragua. For the majority of constructs, the ...