Department of Hospital Hygiene, Farhat Hached University Hospital, Sousse, Tunisia.
Department of Medical Oncology, Farhat Hached University Hospital, Sousse, Tunisia.
J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2023 Oct;149(13):11585-11594. doi: 10.1007/s00432-023-05040-2. Epub 2023 Jul 4.
Over the past years, there has been a considerable increase in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among cancer patients. However, guidance from health care workers (HCWs) is not always provided. We aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of Tunisian HCWs regarding the use of CAM in cancer patients.
We conducted a multicenter cross-sectional study over 5 months from February to June 2022 among HCWs caring for cancer patients in the Tunisian center region. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire developed by our investigators.
The level of knowledge about CAM was declared limited by 78.4% of our population. The best known CAM therapies were herbal medicine and homeopathy while chiropractic and hypnosis where the least. HCWs who had sought information on CAM represented 54.3% of our sample and the main source of information was the Internet (37.1%). A positive attitude towards the use of CAM was found in 56% of HCWs. The integration of CAM into supportive care in oncology was approved by 78% of HCWs. Concerning training on CAM, 78% declared its necessity for HCWs and 73.3% expressed a desire to have it. A personal use of CAM was found in 53% of HCWs while 38.8% had previously used CAM in the treatment of their cancer patients.
The majority of HCWs had a positive attitude towards the use of CAM in oncology despite their poor knowledge about it. Our study emphasizes the need to train HCWs dealing with cancer patients on CAM.
在过去几年中，癌症患者对补充和替代医学（CAM）的使用有了相当大的增加。然而，医疗保健工作者（HCWs）并不总是提供指导。我们旨在确定突尼斯 HCWs 对癌症患者使用 CAM 的知识、态度和实践。
我们在 2022 年 2 月至 6 月的 5 个月内，在突尼斯中心地区对照顾癌症患者的 HCWs 进行了一项多中心横断面研究。使用我们研究人员开发的自我管理问卷收集数据。
我们的人群中有 78.4%的人宣称对 CAM 的了解有限。最知名的 CAM 疗法是草药和顺势疗法，而脊椎按摩和催眠疗法则最少。54.3%的 HCWs 曾寻求过 CAM 信息，信息的主要来源是互联网（37.1%）。56%的 HCWs 对使用 CAM 持积极态度。78%的 HCWs 赞成将 CAM 纳入肿瘤学的支持性护理中。关于 CAM 培训，78%的 HCWs 表示其对 HCWs 的必要性，73.3%的 HCWs 表示希望接受培训。53%的 HCWs 个人使用过 CAM，而 38.8%的 HCWs 曾在治疗癌症患者时使用过 CAM。
尽管 HCWs 对 CAM 的了解有限，但大多数 HCWs 对在肿瘤学中使用 CAM 持积极态度。我们的研究强调了培训处理癌症患者的 HCWs 接受 CAM 培训的必要性。
