Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Therapeutic Massage for Psychological Well-being in Geriatric Oncology
Published on: May 22, 2026
Daily use of complementary and other therapies for symptoms among older adults: study design and illustrative results
Thomas A Arcury1, Joseph G Grzywacz, Rebecca H Neiberg
1Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA. tarcury@wfubmc.edu
Objective:
This article describes research designed to specify complementary therapies used among older adults by obtaining daily use data and the specific purposes for use.
Design:
Two hundred African American and White participants completed a baseline interview and up to six sets of three daily-diary interviews at monthly intervals.
Results:
Participants provided retrospective information on complementary therapy use and information on the use of therapies for specific symptoms experienced across 3,070 person days. Retrospective information indicated that most participants used complementary therapies (e.g., 85.0% used home remedies in the past year). The use of complementary or other therapies and the number of days the therapies were used varied for specific symptoms. For example, home remedies were used on 86 (9.1%) of the 944 person days for which joint pain was reported.
Discussion:
The daily-diary design provides detailed information for delineating how elders include complementary and other therapies in their health self-management.
Related Concept Videos
Heart Failure VI: Adjunct Therapies
Dosage Regimens: Designs and Approaches
Drug Dosing: Geriatric Patients
Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age
Combination Therapies and Personalized Medicine
The combination of the drug acetazolamide and sulforaphane is a good example of combination therapy to treat cancer. The cells in the interior of a large tumor often die due to the hypoxic and...
Modeling in Therapy
Participant Modeling
Participant modeling involves therapists demonstrating calm and effective behaviors in situations...
