Complementary and integrative medicine best practice guidelines: changing oncology health care providers' knowledge, attitudes and practices
Loading...
Date
2020
Authors
Hayward, Emilie
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) use is prevalent among cancer patients and oncology health care providers (HCP) need to be knowledgeable and address CIM use to provide safe, patient-centred care. This study assessed how the implementation of a CIM best practice guideline through an educational intervention and a CIM assessment form affected the knowledge, readiness, attitudes, and practices of 31 oncology HCP at a Canadian cancer centre. Using a before-after study design, participants’ self-reported knowledge, readiness, attitudes, and practices around CIM were assessed prior to the intervention and again three months later. After completing the education intervention and implementing the CIM assessment form over the 3-month time period, participants reported a significant improvement in CIM knowledge, readiness to support cancer patients’ CIM decisions, and willingness to consult with another HCP about CIM. However, participants’ attitudes towards CIM, and clinical practices such as asking about CIM use and providing CIM decision support did not significantly change. These findings
highlight the importance of health professional education related to CIM in cancer care setting and the value of a CIM assessment tool to strengthen oncology HCPs’ knowledge about CIM, and increase their readiness to address cancer patients’ CIM use. Such standardized training also holds the potential to shift oncology HCPs’ clinical practice related to CIM and provide more comprehensive and safer patient care.
Description
Keywords
oncology