National Research Center in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NAFKAM), Department of Community Medicine, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
The Norwegian Cancer Society, Oslo, Norway.
BMC Complement Med Ther. 2022 Jul 29;22(1):202. doi: 10.1186/s12906-022-03606-0.
Research exploring the use of specific Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) modalities by Norwegian cancer patients is sparse. The aims of this study were therefor to map the different CAM modalities cancer patients use and further investigate their rationale for use, communication about use, self-reported benefits and harms, and their sources of information about the different modalities.
In cooperation with the Norwegian Cancer Society (NCS), we conducted an online cross-sectional study among members of their user panel with present or previously cancer (n = 706). The study was carried out in September/October 2021 using a modified cancer-specific version of the International Questionnaire to Measure Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (I-CAM-Q). In total, 468 members, 315 women and 153 men, agreed to participate resulting in a response rate of 67.2%. The study was reported in accordance with the National Research Center in Complementary and Alternative Medicine's (NAFKAM) model of reporting CAM use.
A large proportion of the participants (79%, n = 346) had used some form of CAM with a mean of 3.8 modalities each (range 1-17); 33% (n = 143) had seen a CAM provider, 52% (n = 230) had used natural remedies, while 58% (n = 253) had used self-help practices. Most of the participants used CAM to increase their quality of life, cope with the cancer disease or for relaxation/well-being (64%-94%), mostly with high satisfaction and low rates of adverse effects. Few used CAM to treat cancer or prevent it from spreading (16%, n = 55). The main information sources were health care providers (47%), the internet (47%), and family and friends (39%). More than half (59%) of the cancer patients discussed their use of at least one CAM modality with a physician.
The results of this survey will provide health professionals with more in-depth insight into the patterns of CAM use by cancer patients and facilitate better-informed discussions with their patients. Considering the high use of CAM, reliable information provision supporting cancer care providers' knowledge and health literacy among patients as well as good communication are crucial. The cooperation between the NCS and NAFKAM provides an example of how to address these issues.
探索挪威癌症患者使用特定补充和替代医学（CAM）方式的研究很少。因此，本研究的目的是绘制癌症患者使用的不同 CAM 方式图，并进一步调查他们使用的理由、关于使用的沟通、自我报告的益处和危害，以及他们获得不同方式信息的来源。
我们与挪威癌症协会（NCS）合作，通过其用户小组的在线横断面研究，对目前或以前患有癌症的成员（n=706）进行研究。该研究于 2021 年 9 月/10 月使用国际补充和替代医学使用情况调查问卷（I-CAM-Q）的癌症特异性修订版进行。共有 468 名成员，315 名女性和 153 名男性同意参加，响应率为 67.2%。该研究按照国家补充和替代医学研究中心（NAFKAM）的 CAM 使用报告模型进行报告。
大多数参与者（79%，n=346）使用过某种形式的 CAM，平均每种方式 3.8 种（范围 1-17）；33%（n=143）看过 CAM 提供者，52%（n=230）使用过天然疗法，而 58%（n=253）使用过自助实践。大多数参与者使用 CAM 来提高生活质量、应对癌症疾病或放松/保持健康（64%-94%），大多数人满意度高，副作用率低。很少有人使用 CAM 来治疗癌症或预防癌症扩散（16%，n=55）。主要信息来源是医疗保健提供者（47%）、互联网（47%）和家人和朋友（39%）。超过一半（59%）的癌症患者与医生讨论过至少一种 CAM 方式的使用情况。
本调查结果将为卫生专业人员提供更深入的了解癌症患者使用 CAM 的模式，并促进与患者进行更好的讨论。考虑到 CAM 的高使用率，为癌症患者提供可靠的信息，支持医疗保健提供者的知识和健康素养，以及良好的沟通至关重要。NCS 与 NAFKAM 的合作提供了一个如何解决这些问题的范例。
