Prevalence of traditional, complementary, and alternative medicine use by cancer patients in low income and lower-middle income countries

Hill, Jacob; Mills, Robert C.; Li, Quefeng; Smith, Jennifer S.

doi:10.1080/17441692.2018.1534254

Cited by 36 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Patients with advanced stage cancers were more likely to self‐report T&CM use compared to patients with stage one cancers. Seeking care with traditional health practitioners (THPs) and use of T&CM have been associated with delayed presentations for symptomatic female breast cancers in low‐income countries (Ermiah et al, ; Ezeome, ; Hill, Mills, Li, & Smith, ; Malik & Gopalan, ; Pace et al, ). The association between use of T&CM and cancer stage at diagnoses could be because patients with advanced stage cancers are more likely to be desperate and take recourse to all forms of therapies including T&CM, as a way to find cure and meaning in life.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of traditional and complementary medicines by cancer patients at a national cancer referral facility in a low‐income country

2019

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Objective The aim of this study was to describe use of traditional and complementary medicines (T&CM) and associated factors among patients with cancer. Methods We conducted a cross‐sectional study at the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) involving patients with selected solid tumours. Independent variables included age, sex, marital status, cancer site and stage. Main outcome variables were use and disclosure of use of T&CM. Results The majority of participants were women (n = 352; 81.9%). Breast cancer (n = 312; 71.9%) was the predominant cancer type. 55.4% of participants (n = 240) self‐reported use of T&CM. Among them, 68.3% (140/205) reported using them to treat/cure cancer, 35.6% (72/202) for strengthening the immune system and 31.2% (63/202) for management of pain. Patients with advanced stage cancers were more likely to be users compared with those in stage one. The majority (81.9%, 195/238) of T&CM users did not disclose use to their healthcare professionals. The main reasons for nondisclosure included lack of inquiry by clinicians (79.6%, 117/147) and fear of disapproval and/or rebuke (11.6%, 17/147). Conclusion Use of T&CM by patients with cancer under biomedical care is common but often undisclosed to the healthcare professionals.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of traditional and complementary medicines by cancer patients at a national cancer referral facility in a low‐income country

2019

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“…The use of biological medicines for cancer treatment is highly controversial, because patients are more likely to refuse the conventional therapeutic strategies, thus presenting a higher risk of death (Johnson, Park, Gross, & Yu, ). For many people from third world countries, it is the only treatment available (Hill, Mills, Li, & Smith, ), whereas in developed countries, these are used as a complementary therapy to ameliorate some undesirable side effects of conventional treatments (Fitzsimmons et al, ; Keene, Heslop, Sabesan, & Glass, ). However, it is necessary to study the impact of a combination between conventional drugs and active herbal ingredients (Fu et al, ).…”

Section: Pharmacological Properties Of Malva Plantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Malva species: Insights on its chemical composition towards pharmacological applications

Sharifi‐Rad

Melgar‐Lalanne

Hernández-Álvarez

et al. 2019

Phytotherapy Research

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Malvaceae family is typical from the Mediterranean region, contains 240 genera and more than 4,200 species. They are most commonly used as ornamental plants, although they can also be conceived as a food resource and remedy for various diseases, such as digestive, respiratory, genitourinary, throat infections, and skeletal and skin disorders, as also injuries where they are profoundly applied for skin care and as antiseptic and demulcent. They also possess diuretic, lenitive, spasmolytic, and laxative effects, besides to be used as antidiarrheal. Thus, the present review provides in‐depth data on Malva spp. potential applications and phytochemical composition for food and pharmaceutical industries. Habitat and cultivation conditions and the clinical reports related to its biological effects are also emphasized. Malva spp. possess a wide variety of chemical constituents (such as polysaccharides, coumarins, flavonoids, polyphenols, vitamins, terpenes, and tannins) found in different plant organs, especially in leaves and flowers, connected to their biological activity. In general, Malva spp. have rather moderate antimicrobial activity, high antiinflammatory and wound healing activities, strong antioxidant activity, and anticancer properties. Results from in vitro and in vivo experiments encourage more in‐depth studies, namely clinical trials, towards to improve knowledge on the use of Malva spp. for the treatment of various health conditions in humans.

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“…Responses to African epidemics have been threatened by insufficient infrastructure and weak healthcare systems, including lack of sufficient monitoring to determine the magnitude of the outbreak and insufficient structures to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases [ 13 ]. There is a high reliance on traditional, complementary, and alternative medicines in Africa [ 11 , 14 ]. Deficient healthcare systems in Africa have resulted in high preventable morbidity and mortality, creating a vicious cycle of poverty [ 15 – 17 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk Factors Associated with Mortality Among Patients with Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in Africa

Mohammed

Muhammad

Mohammed³

et al. 2020

J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities

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Background The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first reported in China and later spread rapidly to other parts of the world, including Africa. Africa was projected to be devastated by COVID-19. There is currently limited data regarding regional predictors of mortality among patients with COVID-19. This study aimed to evaluate the independent risk factors associated with mortality among patients with COVID-19 in Africa. Methods A total of 1028 confirmed cases of COVID-19 from Africa with definite survival outcomes were identified retrospectively from an open-access individual-level worldwide COVID-19 database. The live version of the dataset is available at https:// github.com/beoutbreakprepared/nCoV2019. Multivariable logistic regression was conducted to determine the risk factors that independently predict mortality among patients with COVID-19 in Africa. Results Of the 1028 cases included in study, 432 (42.0%) were females with a median (interquartile range, IQR) age of 50 (24) years. Older age (adjusted odds ratio {aOR} 1.06; [95% confidence intervals {95% CI}, 1.04-1.08]), presence of chronic disease (aOR 9.63; [95% CI, 3.84-24.15]), travel history (aOR 2.44; [95% CI, 1.26-4.72]), as well as locations of Central Africa (aOR 0.14; [95% CI, 0.03-0.72]) and West Africa (aOR 0.12; [95% CI, 0.04-0.32]) were identified as the independent risk factors significantly associated with increased mortality among the patients with COVID-19. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic is evolving gradually in Africa. Among patients with COVID-19 in Africa, older age, presence of chronic disease, travel history, and the locations of Central Africa and West Africa were associated with increased mortality. A regional response should prioritize strategies that will protect these populations. Also, conducting a further in-depth study could provide more insights into additional factors predictive of mortality in COVID-19 patients.

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Prevalence of traditional, complementary, and alternative medicine use by cancer patients in low income and lower-middle income countries

Cited by 36 publications

References 31 publications

Use of traditional and complementary medicines by cancer patients at a national cancer referral facility in a low‐income country

Use of traditional and complementary medicines by cancer patients at a national cancer referral facility in a low‐income country

Malva species: Insights on its chemical composition towards pharmacological applications

Risk Factors Associated with Mortality Among Patients with Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in Africa

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