Solicitude toward Complementary Therapy among Oncology Patients Fatehallah Reham Samir1,*, Sebaee Hanan Ahmed Al2, Mahmoud Amel Saied3 1Clinical Instructor, Medical Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Cairo University, Egypt 2Professor, Medical Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Cairo University, Egypt 3Assistant Professor, Medical Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Cairo University, Egypt *Corresponding Author: Reham Samir Fatehallah Clinical Instructor, Medical Surgical Nursing e-mail: rehamelmaadawy48@gmail.com, Mobile: 01069444659
Online published on 23 December, 2019. Abstract Many oncology patients use complementary therapy (CT) to overcome the side-effects of conventional treatment without informing health care providers. Many studies were done to assess the knowledge and attitudes of health care providers toward CT, but little studies discussed the knowledge and attitudes of oncology patients toward it. The aim of the present study was to assess solicitude (including knowledge and attitudes) toward CT among oncology patients. A descriptive design was utilized to collect the data from a convenient sample of 300 adult oncology patients through a period of consecutive six months. The main findings revealed that 89.7% of the oncology patients used CT, however, 95% had an unsatisfactory level of knowledge about CT; 87.7% of the patients had a positive attitude toward CT. It can be concluded that although oncology patients had a positive attitude toward CT, they had a lack of knowledge about it. Accordingly, it is recommended to include comprehensive patient assessment and professional guidance for CT use. Top Keywords Solicitude, Knowledge and attitude, Complementary therapy, Oncology patients. Top |