An integrative review on the information and communication needs of parents of children with cancer regarding the use of complementary and alternative medicine

Abstract

Background: Parents often choose Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) as a supportive agent with the aim to reduce cancer treatment-related symptoms in their children. Therefore, it is necessary to understand parentsí nformation and communication needs regarding CAM. The aim of the present study was to review the research literature as to identify the information and communication needs of parents of children with cancer, and the children themselves, regarding the use of CAM. Methods: An integrative systematic review design was chosen. Searches were performed in AMED, CAMbase, CINAHL (Ebsco), EMBASE, PubMed and PsycInfo, Theme eJournals and Karger. The search was limited to studies published in English, German, Dutch, and the Scandinavian languages. Using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, two reviewers independently screened the title and abstracts of the relevant papers. A data extraction form and critical appraisal checklists were used to extract data for analysis, and a mixed methods synthesis was applied. Results: Out of 24 studies included, 67% were of quantitative and 33% of qualitative study design. Five main themes emerged from the analysis of 21 studies: Information on CAM, sources of CAM information, communication about CAM, informed decision-making on CAM, and Risk/benefit of CAM. The majority of the parents did not disclose the CAM use of their children because they feared negative reactions from the attending oncologist. To make informed treatment decisions for their children, parents wanted unbiased information about CAM and would act accordingly. They demand open communication about these modalities and respect for the family's autonomy when choosing CAM for their children. Conclusion: There is an urgent need for parents of children with cancer for high quality information on CAM from reliable and scientific sources. Development of authoritative evidence-based decision tools is thus warranted to enable health care professionals and parents of children with cancer to make well informed, individual decisions concerning CAM.

Complementary and alternative medicine use by pediatric oncology patients before, during, and after treatment

“…Friends or family, as well as media, were the most consulted sources of information about CAM, a result in line with the trend reported by others [ 7 , 9 , 11 , 23 , 31 , 32 ]. In other studies, most respondents considered that CAM information should be provided by pediatric oncologists [ 8 , 32 ], who also consider it to be their role [ 33 ]. Where integrative oncology programs exist, more than half of the respondents would use them [ 13 ].…”

“…Oncologists should discuss and inform their patients about CAM use to warn them about interaction risks [ 32 ]. Being first-line providers, they are key actors in identifying potential benefits and risks for patients.…”

Information seeking for coping with cancer: a systematic review

“…Alternatively, the information behaviour of interest can be further limited, e.g. information behaviour regarding the use of complementary and alternative medicine (Stub et al, 2020) or information needs regarding treatment-focussed genomic testing (Wolyniec et al, 2020). However, since the review by Rutten et al (2005), no reviews have focussed on reviewing the studies specifically addressing the use of information seeking by cancer patients as coping.…”

Plantas Medicinais Como Terapia Adjuvante No Tratamento Oncológico: Uma Revisão Integrativa

“…Jacob, Khan e Le (2017) 11 relatam que o chá verde que é produzido a partir das folhas da planta Camellia sinensis, possui como um dos ingredientes ativos compostos polifenólicos que exibem propriedades anticarcinogênicas por indução apoptose e pela inibição do crescimento celular, inibidores da quinase, afetando assim a progressão do Câncer de próstata em homens. Stub et al, (2020) 12 relata que o câncer por afetar as células do corpo, a carga de sintomas nas crianças é alta, ocasionando sintomas como fadiga, desgaste emocional, dor e perda de apetite.…”

“…Os sintomas geralmente variam de acordo com os diferentes tipos de câncer 13 . O autor Stub et al, (2020) 12 refere que os pais optam em escolher Medicina Alternativa e Complementar (CAM) como um agente de suporte, tendo o objetivo de reduzir esses sintomas. As modalidades de CAM mais comumente usadas em crianças com CA são suplementos dietéticos, ervas medicinais e nutricionais e o uso de tratamentos espirituais como a fé, oração e cura.…”