Register for Patient's sense of increased control correlates with alternative medicine use
Breast CancerMarch 25, 2003
2003 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Patient's sense of increased control correlates with alternative medicine use.
According to a study from the United States, "Research has shown that perceptions of control influence health related behavior and outcomes. This study explored the influence of the control constructs in the context of the theory of cognitive adaptation to the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among 551 women diagnosed with breast cancer in Portland, Oregon. The majority of these women had high perceptions of cancer control and used one or more types of CAM therapy.
"Multinomial logistical regression indicated that higher perceptions of control over the course and cause of cancer significantly predicted CAM use. The model combining sociodemographic variables (age, education, and type of health insurance) and control variables explained more variation (R-2=0.23) in predicting CAM use than the model with only sociodemographic variables (R-2 =0.14), indicating that perceptions of control over the cause and the course of cancer had an independent significant influence," stated J.W. Henderson and coauthors, Oregon State University.
Henderson and coauthors concluded: "The assessment of control constructs from the theory of cognitive adaptation is useful for studying CAM use among women diagnosed with breast cancer and that understanding the meanings that lie behind the decisions to use these therapies are essential for health care providers who are promoting the health and wellbeing of their patients."
Henderson and colleagues published the results of their study in Psycho - Oncology (The relationship between cancer locus of control and complementary and alternative medicine use by women diagnosed with breast cancer. Psycho-oncol, 2003;12(1):59-67).
The corresponding author for this report is J.W. Henderson, Oregon State University, Department Publishing Health, 4191 NW Bittersweet Pl, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA.
To subscribe to the journal Psycho-Oncology, contact the publisher: John Wiley & Sons Ltd., Baffins Lane Chichester, W Sussex PO19 1UD, UK.
The information in this article comes under the major subject areas of Cognition, Control, Patient Empowerment, Mental Health, Breast Cancer, Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Neurology, Oncology, Endocrinology, Gynecology, Risk Factor, Psychology, Alternative Medicine Use, Sociodemographics, Placebo Effect, Cognitive Adaptation, Physician Knowledge, Health Behavior, Prognosis and Women's Health. This article was prepared by Cancer Weekly editors from staff and other reports.
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