Barriers to Integration of Traditional and Complementary Medicine in Supportive Cancer Care of Arab Patients in Northern Israel

In 2008, an Integrative Oncology Program (IOP), aiming to improve patients’ quality of life during chemotherapy and advanced cancer, was launched within the Clalit Health Organization's oncology service at the Lin Medical Center, Haifa, Israel. The IOP clinical activity is documented using a re...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine 2012-01, Vol.2012 (2012), p.1-9
Main Authors: Schiff, Elad, Levy, Levava, Shalom, Tamar, Karkabi, Khaled, Steiner, Mariana, Ben-Arye, Eran, Popper-Giveon, Ariela
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alternative medicine
Anxiety
Appetite
Breast cancer
Cancer
Cancer therapies
Chemotherapy
Communication
Fatigue
Gynecology
Health care facilities
Integration
Integrative medicine
Medical referrals
Medical research
Mental depression
Nausea
Oncology
Patients
Pediatrics
Primary care
Quality of life
Questionnaires
Radiation therapy
Social workers
Traditional medicine
Well being
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Summary:In 2008, an Integrative Oncology Program (IOP), aiming to improve patients’ quality of life during chemotherapy and advanced cancer, was launched within the Clalit Health Organization's oncology service at the Lin Medical Center, Haifa, Israel. The IOP clinical activity is documented using a research-based registry protocol. In this study, we present an analysis of the registry protocol of 15 Arab patients with cancer who were referred to the IOP. Analysis of patients’ reported outcomes using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale suggests that integrative medicine care improves fatigue (P=0.024), nausea (P=0.043), depression (P=0.012), anxiety (P=0.044), appetite (P=0.012), and general well-being (P=0.031). Barriers to integration of traditional and complementary medicine in supportive care of Arab patients are discussed followed by six practical recommendations aimed at improving accessibility of patients to integrative supportive care, as well as compliance with treatments.
ISSN:1741-427X
1741-4288
DOI:10.1155/2012/401867