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Reasons for and Characteristics Associated With Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Adult Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review

Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, mverhoef{at}ucalgary.ca

Lynda G. Balneaves, PhD

School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Heather S. Boon, PhD

Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Annette Vroegindewey, BN

Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Purpose: To conduct a systematic review of reasons for and sociodemographic and disease characteristics associated with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use in cancer patients. Methods: Eligible studies were identified by searching the following databases: Alt Health Watch, AMED, CINAHL, CancerLit, PremMEDLINE, MEDLINE, Pub-Med, Ingenta, EMBASE, and Health Star, as well as reference lists in review articles. Only English-language articles published between 1994 and 2004 were included. Search terms included CAM and oncology/cancer, decision making and CAM and oncology/cancer, treatment decision making and CAM and oncology/cancer, and health care choices and CAM and oncology/cancer. Results: Fifty-two eligible studies were identified and summarized. These studies were conducted in 14 different countries, with the largest number of studies being completed in the United States (34.6%). A therapeutic response, wanting control, a strong belief in CAM, CAM as a last resort, and finding hope were the most commonly cited reasons for using CAM. Age, socioeconomic status, and gender were the dominant characteristics associated with CAM use. Conclusion: Reasons for and characteristics associated with CAM use among cancer patients have been studied extensively. Future CAM research among cancer patients should focus on identifying decision-making processes and building theoretical decision-making models. These can be used in the development of decisional aids for patients when confronted with the choice to use CAM as part of their cancer treatment.

Key Words: complementary and alternative medicine • decision making • cancer • systematic review

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