Complementary Medicine and Oncologists’ Attitudes: A Survey in Italy

1996 ◽  
Vol 82 (6) ◽  
pp. 539-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuele Crocetti ◽  
Nadia Crotti ◽  
Maurizio Montella ◽  
Marco Musso
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Complementary Medicine ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Conventional Medicine ◽  
Multivariate Model ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Medical Practices ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

Aims and Background There is growing interest in medical practices other than conventional medicine (complementary medicine, CM). CM is widely used by cancer patients. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the knowledge of and the attitude towards CM in a sample of Italian allopathic oncologists. Methods Seventy-six oncologists of the Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro of Genoa, 80 oncologists working at the Istituto Tumori Fondazione Pascale of Naples, and 100 hospital practitioners of the Province of Sondrio were asked to answer a self-administered structured questionnaire on CM. The level of their knowledge on CM, their opinion on CM and on CM therapists, the sources of information, the use of CM for themselves, the practice of CM and the attitude to refer patients to CM were investigated. Results Replies were received from 190 oncologists. The response rate was significantly lower for the oncologists of Naples. One-fifth of the physicians replied that they had no knowledge of CM. The main sources of information were newspapers and TV. One-fourth of the physicians had personally used CM. About one-fourth of the physicians had practiced a kind of CM. The percentage of oncologists from Genoa who would refer their cancer patients to CM was significantly higher than the others. The physicians thought that about 84% of their patients used CM. The variables considered were tested in a multivariate model. The oncologists from Genoa showed a significantly increased risk of referring their patients to CM. Oncologists who had personally used CM referred patients to CM 3 times more frequently than the others. Conclusions A large percentage of cancer patients used CM according to their physicians. The level and the quality of the knowledge of CM of the oncologists interviewed were low. The oncologists could hardly be helpful for their patients in dealing with therapies different from conventional medicine.

scholarly journals Integrative Treatment of Lung Cancer Patients: Observational Study of 57 Cases

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Anelli ◽  
Alessia Di Nardo ◽  
Massimo Bonucci
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Lung Cancer ◽  
Nutritional Status ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Immune Status ◽  
Conventional Medicine ◽  
Integrative Therapy ◽  
Lung Cancer Patients ◽  
Retrospective Clinical Study

Abstract Introduction A retrospective clinical study was performed to identify the characteristics of patients with lung cancer treated with integrative cancer treatment in addition to conventional medicine. Materials and Methods We reviewed medical records for lung cancer patients who visited a single integrative setting in Rome, Italy. A total of 57 patients were included, and the majority had advanced-stage cancer. All of them underwent integrative therapy with nutrition and phytotherapy indications. The diet was designed to reduce most of possible factors promoting cancer proliferation, inflammation, and obesity. Foods with anti-inflammatory, prebiotic, antioxidant, and anticancer properties had been chosen. Herbal supplements with known effects on lung cancer were prescribed. In particular, astragal, apigenine, fucosterol, polydatin, epigallocatechin gallate, cannabis, curcumin, and inositol were used. Furthermore, medical mushrooms and other substances were used to improve the immune system and to reduce chemotherapy side effects. Five key parameters have been evaluated for 2 years starting at the first surgery: nutritional status, immune status, discontinuation of therapy, quality of life, and prognosis of the disease. Results A relevant improvement in parameters relative to nutritional status, immune status, and quality of life has been observed after integrative therapy compared with the same parameters at the first medical visit before starting such approach. Conclusion The results suggest that integrative therapy may have benefits in patients with lung cancer. Even though there are limitations, the study suggests that integrative therapy could improve nutritional status and quality of life, with possible positive effect on overall survival.

Value of caregiver ratings in evaluating the quality of life of patients with cancer.

1997 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 1206-1217 ◽  
Author(s):  
K C Sneeuw ◽  
N K Aaronson ◽  
M A Sprangers ◽  
S B Detmar ◽  
L D Wever ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Informal Caregivers ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Individual Patient Level ◽  
Populations At Risk ◽  
Changes Over Time ◽  
Over Time

PURPOSE To evaluate the usefulness of caregiver ratings of cancer patients' quality of life (QL), we examined the following: (1) the comparability of responses to a brief standardized QL questionnaire provided by patients, physicians, and informal caregivers; and (2) the relative validity of these ratings. METHODS The study sample included cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, their treating physicians, and significant others involved closely in the (informal) care of the patients. During an early phase of treatment and 3 months later, patients and caregivers completed independently the COOP/WONCA charts, covering seven QL domains. At baseline, all sources of information were available for 295 of 320 participating patients (92%). Complete follow-up data were obtained for 189 patient-caregiver triads. RESULTS Comparison of mean scores on the COOP/WONCA charts revealed close agreement between patient and caregiver ratings. At the individual patient level, exact or global agreement was observed in the majority of cases (73% to 91%). Corrected for chance agreement, moderate intraclass correlations (ICC) were noted (0.32 to 0.72). Patient, physician, and informal caregiver COOP/WONCA scores were all responsive to changes over time in specific QL domains, but differed in their relative performance. Relative to the patients, the physicians were more efficient in detecting changes over time in physical fitness and overall health, but less so in relation to social function and pain. CONCLUSION For studies among patient populations at risk of deteriorating self-report capabilities, physicians and informal caregivers can be useful as alternative or complementary sources of information on cancer patients' QL.

Club Policies for Mouth Protectors and Dental Emergency Cover in Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) Affiliated Junior Teams

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 38-43
Author(s):  
Mike Broad ◽  
Richard Welbury
Keyword(s):  
Response Rate ◽  
Rugby Union ◽  
Dental Injury ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Dental Emergency ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

Aims To determine whether club policies exist for junior players concerning the wearing of mouth protectors during training and playing, and whether dental emergency cover is present on both training and match days at Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) affiliated junior clubs. Method A self-reporting structured questionnaire, sent to all SRU affiliated clubs with junior playing members. Results Response rate was 77% (117 out of 151 clubs) showing a wide variation in policies and implementation. Exclusion was reported from training in 11% (13 out of 151) and from playing on match days in 17% (20 out of 151) of clubs if a mouth protector was not worn. The majority of clubs advocated that shop-bought protectors were satisfactory. First aiders were present at training at 86% (130 out of 151) and on match days at 95% (143 out of 151) of clubs. Fewer than 1% had a dentist and only 3% a doctor present at training. On match days fewer than 2% had a dentist and fewer than 20% a doctor present. Conclusion There is a wide variation in club policies and guidelines thus allowing parents, players and club staff considerable latitude in interpretation. A significant number of youngsters will be at increased risk of dental injury. First aiders are present in a significant number of clubs during training and playing.

scholarly journals Development of a Comprehensive Questionnaire of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Cancer Patients and Survivors

2005 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 163-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Humpel ◽  
Sandra C. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Medicine ◽  
Complementary And Alternative Medicine ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Support Groups ◽  
Measurement Tool ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Comprehensive Measurement ◽  
Larger Sample ◽  
Complementary And Alternative

The purpose of this study was to develop and pilot test a comprehensive measurement tool to quantify all aspects of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among cancer survivors. Data are from 81 cancer patients and survivors with a mean age of 62 years and 77.2% women. CAMwas used by 63% of the sample. The most common CAM was regular exercise (50%), meditation (48.5%), and fresh fruit and vegetable juices (38.8%). The main motivations for using CAM were to boost the immune system and enhance quality of life. More than 65% had told a doctor they were using CAM. Reported benefits included feeling better, having more energy, and providing a distraction. The main sources of information were support groups (61.5%), books (50%), and friends (45.3%). Few participants used CAM to cure the cancer, and they had realistic expectations about benefits they may receive from using CAM. Further studies are needed with larger sample sizes to confirm whether findings can be generalized to the broader population of cancer patients and survivors.

scholarly journals A Study into the Supervision Styles Used by Building Contractors for Improving Craftsmen Performance in Anambra State, Nigeria

2020 ◽  
pp. 20-27
Author(s):  
Obi Chukwuemeka Emmanuel ◽  
Ogunoh Peter Emenike ◽  
Ezeokoli Fidelis Okechukwu ◽  
Ohaedeghasi Christian Ifeanyi
Keyword(s):  
Construction Projects ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Team Work ◽  
Project Delivery ◽  
Anambra State ◽  
Importance Index ◽  
Building Craftsmen ◽  
Effective Site ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

Poor productivity of construction craftsmen is one of the causes of cost and time overruns in construction projects. Successful delivery of construction of projects within the measurable tenets is driven by effective site supervision. Nevertheless, the inability of many supervisors to organize, communicate with workers, and direct activities sufficiently is primarily connected to the quality of the construction. Hence, this study examined how enhanced supervision styles can lead to the improvement of craftsmen performance in Anambra State, Nigeria. Being a survey research, the study employed the use of review of related literature and structured questionnaire. Accordingly, a total one hundred (100) questionnaires administered and seventy-five (75) were retrieved. This corresponds to a response rate of 75%. Data garnered were analysed and presented using relative importance index, mean scores and frequency tables. The study found out that listening to subordinates or supervisees was the most important supervision styles for improved building craftsmen performance in the study area. Therefore, the study concluded by recommending team work and effective communication channels should be adopted for improving building craftsmen performance as regards project delivery.

scholarly journals Psychological impact of cancer diagnosis among gynaecological cancer subjects in a tertiary care centre

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ranjini Nanjaiah ◽  
Mudassir A. Khan ◽  
Vadiraja N. Rao
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Young Women ◽  
Cancer Diagnosis ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Psychiatric Morbidity ◽  
Gynaecological Cancer ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Increased Risk

Background: The survival rate of cancer patients has improved and focus has shifted to improve the quality of life of the survivors. An adequate knowledge is required for psychosocial interventions and designing programs aimed at improving the quality of life of the cancer patients. The purpose of the study is to assess Anxiety and Depression [Psychiatric morbidity] among gynaecological cancer subjects and its association with duration since diagnosis, type of cancer, mode of treatment and socio-demographic variables.Methods: This is an interview based cross sectional study involving 131 patients diagnosed to have gynaecological cancer who were evaluated using hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS). The gynaecological and socio-demographic data was analyzed for any correlation with HADS scores.Results: The prevalence of at least one psychiatric disorder was 90% (n=118). Sixty subjects [45.8%] had anxiety, 71 subjects [54%] had depression and 118 cases [90%] had psychiatric morbidity.  Patients suffering for less than three months had anxiety; three to 12 months were both anxious and depressed; more than 12 months were depressed. Young women with less education were more anxious compared to educated women.Conclusions: Given a gynaecological cancer an individual will have 0.9 chance of developing psychiatric morbidity. Young women with less education aware of cancer diagnosis for three to 12 months were at increased risk and needs intervention. As cancer incidence is increasing and psychiatric morbidity is common among cancer patients, training of health care personnel in cancer screening and recognizing patients with common mental disorders is required to improve their quality of life. Creating awareness of public regarding risk factors of cancers, importance of screening and cancer treatment is necessary.

scholarly journals Bidirectional information sharing between Nagoya Memorial Hospital and health insurance pharmacies using a communication sheet for pharmaceutical cooperation

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Megumi Kabeya ◽  
Satoshi Hibi ◽  
Shu Yuasa ◽  
Satoshi Kayukawa ◽  
Kenji Ina
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Information Sharing ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Community Pharmacists ◽  
Memorial Hospital ◽  
Cancer Drug ◽  
Before And After

Abstract Background We collaborated with the regional pharmaceutical associations near Nagoya Memorial Hospital and created a communication sheet for pharmaceutical cooperation between the hospital and health insurance pharmacies. Methods The communication sheet for pharmaceutical cooperation was issued in October 2014. We conducted a questionnaire survey of both cancer patients and community pharmacists 1 year after the implementation of the use of this sheet. Based on the results of the survey, we modified our communication sheet and added a unified reply form in October 2016. We examined the number of replies from community pharmacists from October 2014 to April 2019. We then analyzed how community pharmacists instructed and communicated with cancer patients using the results of both the questionnaire survey and the reply form, which were compared before and after introducing the modified version of the communication sheet. Results During the 5 years of observation, 743 communication sheets were sent from Nagoya Memorial Hospital to community pharmacists. As a result of pharmaceutical cooperation in using the communication sheet, 96.4% of prescribed medication were immediately prepared in health insurance pharmacies on that day. The communication sheet also enhanced the conversations between cancer patients and pharmacists. The introduction of the unified reply form increased the response rate of community pharmacists from 1.7 to 69.5% (p < 0.001). The communication between community pharmacists and cancer patients was significantly hindered by prescriptions without an oral cancer drug and patient age < 65 years old (p < 0.05). However, this hindrance was reduced by the use of the modified form. Conclusions The communication sheet for pharmaceutical cooperation is useful for bidirectional information sharing between hospitals and health insurance pharmacies, which may enable pharmacists to provide cancer patients with medication instructions in coordination with hospitals and increase the quality of outpatient pharmacy services.

The impact of guideline treatment nonadherence on survival for colorectal cancer patients: Propensity score calibration via a validation cohort.

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (7_suppl) ◽  
pp. 308-308
Author(s):  
Robert Brooks Hines ◽  
Sue Min Lai ◽  
Joaquina Celebre Baranda ◽  
Kimberly K. Engelman ◽  
Frank Dong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Colorectal Cancer ◽  
Propensity Score ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Validation Cohort ◽  
Treatment Guidelines ◽  
Risk Of Death ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Impact

308 Background: The quality of cancer care has been the focus of ongoing concern for cancer researchers, providers, and policy makers. The objectives of this study were: 1) to evaluate nonadherence with National Comprehensive Cancer Network treatment guidelines for colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and the impact on survival, and 2) to obtain error-corrected estimates of effect by means of propensity score calibration via a validation cohort. Methods: CRC patients identified by the Georgia Comprehensive Cancer Registry for the years 2000-07 were eligible (N = 18,388). Naïve propensity score (PSn) adjustment and PS calibration (PSC) via a validation cohort were utilized to obtain hazard ratio estimates for the impact of guideline treatment nonadherence on 5-year overall survival. The validation cohort contained additional information on comorbidity and payer status which was used to obtain error-corrected estimates of effect by PSC. Results: Treatment nonadherence conferred a large increased risk of death early in the follow-up period which declined over time (Table 1). Comparison of results from the PSn and PSC models indicated moderate to large bias due to unmeasured confounding in the PSn model (data not shown). Conclusions: PSC produced attenuated estimates and had an impact on study conclusions in the latter follow-up period. For CRC patients, health services research into the quality of care received by cancer patients is necessary to continue the improving trend in CRC-related mortality. [Table: see text]

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