Frequency of use and characteristics of complementary and alternative treatment methods by children oncology patients

Year 2021, Volume: 4 Issue: 3, 289 - 294, 21.05.2021

İsmail Bulut Nurdan Taçyıldız Emel Ünal Leman Yavuz Handan Dinçaslan Yunus Emre Bulut

https://doi.org/10.32322/jhsm.885485

Abstract

Background/aim: The use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) has been increasing in recent years. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of CAM and the sociodemographic characteristics of pediatric patients. Materials and methods: This cross - sectional study was completed with 139 patients newly diagnosed with or followed-up with cancer diagnosis in the pediatric oncology outpatient clinic of Ankara University Faculty of Medicine. Results: All of the patients stated that they prayed for the recovery of the disease. It was found that 26.6% of the patients used at least one CAM method. The most commonly used CAM methods were honey (59.5%), bee pollen/royal jelly (56.8%) and grape molasses (45.9%), 37.8% of the patients consulted to a muslim preacher for prayer assistance. 62% of the patients using CAM stated that they did not inform their doctor on this issue. Conclusion: Patients should be informed and warned that CAM methods should never prevent the medical treatment and should not be used instead of medical treatment, that they should share it with their doctors when they want to use any method.

Keywords

Children, cancer, complementary medicine, alternative medicine

References

• What is complementary and alternative medicine. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). http://nccam.nih.gov/health/whatiscam/. Published 2014. Accessed October 10, 2015.
• McCarty RL, Weber WJ, Loots B, et al. Complementary and alternative medicine use and quality of life in pediatric diabetes. J Altern Complement Med 2010; 16: 165-73.
• Muslu GK, Öztürk C. Tamamlayıcı ve alternatif tedaviler ve çocuklarda kullanımı. Çocuk Sağlığı ve Hast Derg 2008; 51: 62-7.
• Eisenberg DM, Davis RB, Ettner SL, et al. Trends in alternative medicine use in the United States, 1990-1997: Results of a follow-up national survey. JAMA 1998; 280: 1569-75.
• Kemper KJ, Vohra S, Walls R. The use of complementary and alternative medicine in pediatrics. Pediatrics 2008; 122: 1374-86.
• Rafferty AP, McGee HB, Miller CE, Reyes M. Prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine use: State-specific estimates from the 2001 behavioral risk factor surveillance system. Am J Public Health 2002; 92: 1598-600.
• Vallerand A, Fouladbakhsh J, Templin T. The use of complementary/alternative medicine therapies for the self-treatment of pain among residents of urban, suburban, and rural communities. Am J Public Heal 2003; 93: 923-5.
• Molassiotis A, Fernadez-Ortega P, Pud D, et al. Use of complementary and alternative medicine in cancer patients: a European survey. Ann Oncol 2005; 16: 655-63.
• Naja F, Alameddine M, Abboud M, Bustami D, Al Halaby R. Complementary and alternative medicine use among pediatric patients with leukemia: The case of Lebanon. Integr Cancer Ther 2011; 10: 38-46.
• Bordbar M, Kamfiroozi R, Fakhimi N, Jaafari Z, Zarei T HS. Complementary and alternative medicine in pediatric oncology patients in South of Iran. Iran J Ped Hematol Oncol 2016; 6: 216-27.
• Tomlinson D, Hesser T, Ethier MC, Sung L. Complementary and alternative medicine use in pediatric cancer reported during palliative phase of disease. Support Care Cancer 2011; 19:
• Valji R, Adams D, Dagenais S, et al. Complementary and alternative medicine: a survey of its use in pediatric oncology. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013; 2013: 527163.
• Gottschling S, Meyer S, Längler A, Scharifi G, Ebinger F, Gronwald B. Differences in use of complementary and alternative medicine between children and adolescents with cancer in Germany: a population based survey. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2014; 61: 488-92.
• Karadeniz C, Pınarlı F, Oğuz A, Gürsel T, Canter B. Complemantery/alternative medicine use in a pediatric oncology unit in Turkey. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2007; 48: 540-3.
• Gözüm S, Arıkan B, Büyükavcı M. Complemantery/alternative medicine use in a pediatric oncology patients in eastern Turkey. Cancer Nurs 2007; 21: 282-8.
• Genc RE, Senol S, Turgay AS, Kantar M. Complementary and alternative medicine used by pediatric patients with cancer in Western Turkey. Oncol Nurs Forum 2009; 36: E159-64.
• Karali Y, Demirkaya M, Sevinir B. Use of complementary and alternative medicine in children with cancer: Effect on survival. Pediatr Hematol Oncol 2012; 29: 335-44.
• Koç Z, Tural E GE. Determining complementary and alternative medicine methods used by paediatric haematology–oncology patients. J Nurs Heal Care Chronic Illn 2011; 3: 361–71.
• Al-Qudimat MR, Rozmus CL, Farhan N. Family strategies for managing childhood cancer: using complementary and alternative medicine in Jordan. J Adv Nurs 2011; 67: 591-7.
• Hamidah A, Rustam ZA, Tamil AM, Zarina LA, Zulkifli ZS, Jamal R. Prevalence and parental perceptions of complementary and alternative medicine use by children with cancer in a multi-ethnic southeast Asian population. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2009; 52: 70-4.
• Gomez-Martinez R, Tlacuilo-Parra A, Garibaldi-Covarrubias R. Use of complementary and alternative medicine in children with cancer in Occidental, Mexico. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2006; 49: 820-3.
• Molassiotis A, Cubbin D. Thinking outside the box: complementary and alternative therapies use in paediatric oncology patients. Eur J Oncol Nurs 2004; 8: 50-60.
• Laengler A, Spix C, Seifert G, Gottschling S, Graf N, Kaatsch P. Complementary and alternative treatment methods in children with cancer: A population-based retrospective survey on the prevalence of use in Germany. Eur J Cancer 2008; 44: 2233-40.
• Özkan A. Çocukluk çağı kanserlerinde tat. Klin Gelişim 2013; 26: 24-32.
• Kav S, Hanoğlu Z, Algıer L. Türkiye’de kanserli hastalarda tamamlayıcı ve alternatif tedavi yöntemlerinin kullanımı: Literatür taraması. Uluslararası Hematol Derg 2008; 18: 32-7.
• Yeter G. Çocuk kanser hastalarında semptomlara yönelik tamamlayıcı ve alternatif tedavi kullanımı, yüksek lisans tezi. 2012.
• Martel D, Bussieres J, Theoret Y, et al. Use of alternative and complementary therapies in children with cancer. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2005; 44: 660-8.
• Yeh CH, Tsai JL, Li W, et al. Alternative therapy in pediatric patients in Taiwan. J Pediatr Hematol 2000; 17: 55-65.
• June B, Anne L. Unconventional therapy use among children with cancer in Saskatchewan. J Pediatr Oncol Nurs 2001; 18: 16-25.
• Grootenhuis MA, Last BF, de Graaf-Nijkerk JH, van der Wel M. Use of alternative treatment in pediatric oncology. Cancer Nurs 1998; 21: 282-8.