A Scoping Review of Observational Research on Cannabis Use for Symptom Management in HIV and Cancer: Implications for Cannabis Nursing.

作者信息

Cho Hwayoung, Kalina Elena, Wu Jianli, Cook Robert, Salloum Ramzi, Liu Yiyang, Bian Jiang, Guo Jingchuan, Starkweather Angela

机构信息

Department of Family, Community and Health System Science, College of Nursing, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.

Department of Health Education Behavior, College of Health and Human Performance, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.

出版信息

J Clin Nurs. 2025 Feb;34(2):422-429. doi: 10.1111/jocn.17565. Epub 2024 Nov 27.

DOI:10.1111/jocn.17565

PMID:39603980

原文链接:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11747838/

Abstract

BACKGROUND

People with HIV have a higher risk of developing non-AIDS-defining cancers in older age, leading to a significant population living with two conditions, HIV and cancer. There is an increasing interest in cannabis use for symptom management in people with chronic conditions; in 2023, the American Nurses Association officially recognised cannabis nursing as a specialty nursing practice focusing on the care of individuals seeking education/guidance in the therapeutic use of cannabis, supporting the urgency of its research. However, the scientific literature lacks a synthesised review in the focused populations.

AIM

To explore observational research on cannabis use for symptom management among people with HIV and/or cancer and identify gaps in current knowledge to inform future research and policy development.

METHODS

Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist, a literature search of relevant articles was conducted in the databases PubMed (n = 552), PsycInfo (n = 204), CINAHL (n = 164) and Embase (n = 976). Upon screening 1738 articles, 142 were identified for full-text review and 51 were retained for data extraction.

RESULTS

There were more studies evaluating cannabis use among people with cancer than with HIV and no studies among people living with comorbid HIV and cancer. Most studies were cross-sectional with limited metrics on the perceived effectiveness and safety of cannabis use for symptom management and its dosing/mode of delivery for reducing symptoms. While studies focused on cannabis therapy under the provision of healthcare providers, individuals reported obtaining information about cannabis from friends/family/the Internet.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CANNABIS NURSING

This body of research could be strengthened by rigorous longitudinal study designs to build causal relationships on the therapeutic effects of cannabis use and the inclusion of reliable and valid symptom assessment measures over time, which facilitates developing clinical practice guidance and policymaking in cannabis nursing.