Health Care Providers Attitudes and Reactions to Alternative Cancer Treatments - Essay Example

Health Care Provider’s Attitudes and Reactions to Alternative Cancer Treatments Introduction Alternative treatments or medicines refer to a wide variety of therapies that do not fall within the domain of Western medicine (Berman, Singh, Lao, Singh, Ferentz & Hartnoll, 1995). Also known as alternative or complementary medicine, the therapies are based on different practices and philosophies including traditional medical systems, prayer, biofeedback, Ayurvedic treatments, and homeopathy, to name but a few. A few examples of alternative medicines include hypnosis, acupuncture, aboriginal healing, and herbal medicines. Across the world, the use of alternative medicines is becoming more and more common. In the U.S., both the medical community and public have shown more interest in different alternative medical practices over the past couple of years. The establishment of an Office of Alternative Medicine by the National Institutes of Health in 1992 was testimony to the growing interest by the U.S. healthcare fraternity in alternative medicines. The Office later noted that therapies that were then considered unconventional had the potential of gaining more acceptance and becoming conventional in the future (Berman, Singh, Lao, Singh, Ferentz & Hartnoll, 1995). Recent studies conducted in the United States of America, Britain, and Australia among other countries reveal that alternative medicines are getting wider acceptance and attention among physicians and members of the public. A study conducted in 1990 by Eisenberg and other researchers, for example, revealed that about 30% of the American population used at least one form or another of complementary therapy (Berman, Singh, Lao, Singh, Ferentz & Hartnoll, 1995). In Britain, the number of people practicing alternative medicine grew 5.6 times more than physicians. Alternative medicines are used in the treatment of various ailments ranging from fevers to aches, pains and cancers. A study published in the European Journal of Cancer in 2000 revealed that out of the 1023 women suffering from breast cancer, roughly 22% had consulted with an alternative medicine practitioner in the previous twelve months (Rees, Feigel, Vickers, Zollman, McGurk & Smith, 2000). The attitudes of physicians and patients toward alternative treatments for cancer have been a subject of great interest for many researchers especially considering the effects of physician attitudes on patients. In her study on the relationship between patients’ use of alternative cancer treatments and physicians reactions toward them, Bourgeault (1996) established that patient –physician relationships were affected by the patients’ decisions to try unconventional treatments. The study further revealed that the physician’s attitude toward alternative treatment had a significant bearing on the affected patient-physician relationship. While different studies have been conducted to with respect to physician attitudes toward alternative or complementary medicines and the effects of such attitudes on physician-patient relationships, these studies have been limited to the U.S. and Canada. No such study has been conducted in any part of Canada. This study seeks to fill the existing knowledge gap in this respect. Research Questions 1. What falls under the gambit of alternative or complementary treatments to physicians? 2. Do physicians have an interest in receiving more education or training on alternative or complementary cancer treatments? 3. What attitudes do physicians have in regard to alternative or complementary cancer treatments and how are their relationships with patients affected by these attitudes? Hypothesis Many health practitioners have little knowledge of alternative or complementary cancer treatments and their attitudes toward the treatments affect their relationships with their cancer patients. Methodology Qualitative Survey Questions 1. What in your view are alternative or complementary treatments? 2. How knowledgeable are you with respect to alternative or complementary cancer treatments? 3. Do you have any interest in receiving more education or training on alternative or complementary cancer treatments? 4. Do you integrate alternative or complementary treatments with conventional treatments when attending to cancer patients? 5. Have you ever recommended alternative cancer treatments to your patient(s)? 6. Would you support a cancer patient if they chose to go for an alternative or complementary therapy? 7. What are your attitudes toward alternative or complementary cancer treatments? 8. How are your relationships with cancer patients affected by these attitudes? 9. Is there a time when a cancer patient has inquired from you about alternative or complementary cancer treatments and their effectiveness? How the Survey will be Administered The study is concerned mainly with establishing the attitudes of physicians in Northern Health Authority of BC toward alternative and complementary treatments and the effects of these attitudes on physicians-patient relationships. For the study, the population involved is healthcare providers that fall within the Northern Health Authority of BC, Canada. This is the population under study considering that it includes all physicians within the jurisdiction of the Northern Health Authority of BC. The survey will be administered to a sample of healthcare providers spread across the specified authority (Northern Health). A random sample will be used for the survey. The samples will be selected with the help of the Authority based on the distribution of physicians within the different parts of Northern Health; northern interior, northwest and northeast health region. Based on physician records provided by the Authority, proportional sample sizes for the regions will be 10 for Northern Interior health region, 5 for North East health region and 5 for North West health region, so that the total samples used for the study will be 20. The survey will be administered by mail. To select the samples to be used for the survey, three lists of physicians from the three different health areas will be made, each individual being assigned a unique serial number. A computer program will be used to randomly draw a total of 20 serial numbers corresponding to the names of the physicians from the three health areas; 10 from the Northern Interior health region list, 5 from the North East health region list and 5 from the North West health region list. The selected physicians will be sent emails containing the survey questions. Strengths and Limitations of the Survey Mailed surveys are associated with a number of advantages and a few disadvantages. One main advantage of the survey method is that it is less expensive considering that the cost of sending emails is extremely low. Secondly, the method is advantageous in that the researcher can easily send long and complicated questions which the respondent can read and answer to comprehensively at their own pace (wksu.org, 2014). Mailed surveys are generally easy to administer and can be administered remotely. Given that the survey is open-ended, the researcher can get new information that will provide new insight into the phenomena being studied. Furthermore, the survey gives room for the collection of a broad range of information including attitudes, facts, beliefs, behavior, and opinions. On the other hand, the survey has limitations in that there are high chances that the mailed surveys may never be returned which in effect makes the sample less random and more self selective (wksu.org, 2014). This is the case since the researcher has little control over who completes and returns the survey. This is also the case considering that the respondents may not feel encouraged to give truthful and honest answers to the questions they are asked. Yet another disadvantage of the survey is that there is no room for the researcher to explain questions, probe for responses and ask follow-up questions where necessary. The results of the study may also be grossly affected if important respondents are not included in the research for any reason. Complementary Qualitative Approach One survey method that may be used to complement the survey is in-depth interviews. The interviews may be conducted face to face or by phone. For this study, the best option to use considering the relatively great distances between the researcher and respondents is telephone interviews. By conducting telephone interviews, the researcher can get more in-depth information regarding the respondents’ attitudes and their experiences with patients, something that would not be practical with mailed surveys. Telephone or face-to face interviews have the advantage that they are optimal in collecting information relating to personal experiences, opinions and attitudes. This is especially the case given that the researcher can ask probing or follow-up questions which the respondent can effectively answer to (wksu.org, 2014). What this means is that the researcher ends up with more in-depth information than they would get with the mailed survey. The presence of the respondent may also serve to encourage the respondent to give honest and accurate information. The application of an interview for collecting data is also advantageous in that it tends to encourage respondents to participate in the study which boosts the randomness of the sample. One disadvantage of interviews as a method of data collection is that they are more expensive compared to mailed surveys especially if distance between the researcher and respondents are great. Secondly, conducting interviews is more difficult and time consuming compared to administering surveys. For telephone surveys, respondents may drop out of the study if the interview is too long (wksu.org, 2014). Furthermore, since the respondent cannot see or read the questions, the questions asked must be simple and straight forwards if the interview must be effective. References Berman, B. Singh, S., Lao, L., Singh, B., Ferentz, K. & Hartnoll, S. (1995). Physicians Attitudes Toward Complementary Or Alternative Medicine: A Regional Survey. J Am Board Fam Pract 1995(8):361-6. Bourgeault, I. L. (January 01, 1996). Physicians attitudes toward patients use of alternative cancer therapies. Cmaj : Canadian Medical Association Journal = Journal De LassociationMedicaleCanadienne, 155, 12, 1679-85. Rees, R., Feigel, I., Vickers, A., Zollman, C., McGurk, R., Smith, C. (2000). Prevalence of complementary therapy use by women with breast cancer: A population-based survey. European Journal of Cancer, 36(11): 1359–1364. wksu.org (2014). Chapter 4: Advantages and disadvantages of mail and telephone surveys. Retrieved 5 October, 2014, from http://www.wksu.org/toolkit/chapter4/section1.html Read More