Knowledge and use of complementary therapies in a tertiary care hospital in France: a preliminary study

Purpose: Few studies have clarified the use of complementary therapies (CTs) in France. The main objective of this preliminary study was to evaluate knowledge of CTs in four representative groups of patients: patients suffering from cancer, patients presenting with a chronic noncancerous disease, chronic dialysis patients and nonchronic or cancerous patients needing surgery.

Methods: A formalized questionnaire was designed by two psychologists, an oncologist and an anesthesiologist in charge of the Pain Clinic and Support Care Unit. One hundred eleven patients were enrolled, and all agreed to complete the questionnaire.

Results: Eighty (72%) patients did not know the term “complementary therapies” (patients who were “not aware of CTs”), and 24 (21.6%) patients knew the term “complementary therapies” (patients who were “aware of CTs”), while seven patients were not sure of the meaning. There were no differences between aware and unaware patients in gender (p=0.27), age (p=0.24), level of education (p=0.24) or professional occupation (p=0.06). Knowledge about CTs was significantly different among the different categories of patients (p=0.03), with the only statistically significant difference between groups being between oncologic patients receiving ambulatory chemotherapy and patients presenting with a chronic noncancerous disease (p=0.004).

Conclusion: This preliminary study clearly highlights that patients and health caregivers are not aware of CTs and that there is a need for better communication about CTs.

Methods
Questionnaire.