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Communication and information about complementary medicine in a Dutch oncology setting: Interviewing patients and
Marit Mentink1, Liesbeth van Vliet2, Martine Busch3
1Nivel, Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research, Department of Communication in Healthcare, Otterstraat 118, 3512 CR, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Radboud University Medical Center, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Department of Primary and Community Care, Geert Grooteplein Zuid 21, 6525 EZ, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Background:
Complementary medicine such as yoga, massage and art therapy has become increasingly popular among patients with cancer. However, the topic remains under-discussed during oncology consultations: patients seem hesitant to disclose complementary medicine use, and healthcare providers lack resources to discuss complementary medicine. This study aims to gain an understanding of how to improve communication and information provision in oncological settings about complementary medicine by assessing the experiences and needs of patients and healthcare providers.
Materials And Methods:
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 patients with cancer and 13 oncology healthcare providers recruited from two general hospitals and one breast cancer center in the Netherlands. Nine (former) patients with breast cancer collaborated with the research team as 'co-researchers'. Reflexive thematic analysis was used.
Results:
The main themes identified were barriers to patient-provider communication about complementary medicine (e.g. lack of time and knowledge among healthcare providers, negative attitudes toward complementary medicine), facilitators of communication (e.g. openness of healthcare providers, complementary medicine as a routine topic) and information provision needs (e.g. easy access to information, the hospital being involved in providing information).
Conclusion:
Patients with cancer and healthcare providers report issues with the current approach to discussing complementary medicine and are of the opinion that complementary medicine should be a routine topic in oncology consultations. Future studies should focus on effective methods for standardizing complementary medicine discussions into oncology care and making reliable information available for patients and healthcare providers.
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