Registered Nurses’ communication about patients’ use of complementary therapies: A national survey

Hall, H; Leach, MJ; Brosnan, C; Cant, R; Collins, M

Registered Nurses’ communication about patients’ use of complementary therapies: A national survey

Hall, H

Leach, MJ Brosnan, C

Cant, R

Collins, M

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Patient Education and Counseling, 2018, 101 (8), pp. 1403 - 1409
Issue Date:: 2018-08-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Hall, H https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6647-620X	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Leach, MJ	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Brosnan, C https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2104-4937	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Cant, R https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5430-3275	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Collins, M	en_US
dc.date.available	2018-03-07	en_US
dc.date.issued	2018-08-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Patient Education and Counseling, 2018, 101 (8), pp. 1403 - 1409	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0738-3991	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/134196
dc.description.abstract	© 2018 Elsevier B.V. Objective: To identify communication patterns of Registered Nurses regarding patients’ use of complementary therapies. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey conducted in 2017 recruited Australian Registered Nurses working in any area of nursing. Results: Responses of 614 Registered Nurses were analysed. Patient-initiated discussion of complementary therapies were common for 77% of nurses; nurse-initiated discussions were perceived by 73% (sometimes/almost always/always). Nurses’ personal use of complementary therapies predicted discussion with patients and education-based, oncology, or aged care/rehabilitation nurses were most likely to initiate dialogue. Many (55%) did not ‘recommend’ a particular therapy, although 12% ‘almost always/always’ did so. Four out of five nurses (84%) documented patients’ use and communicated with medical/nursing colleagues about this use. Conversely, 61% ‘never’ or ‘almost never’ communicated with a complementary therapy practitioner. Conclusion: Nurses working in Australia often discuss complementary therapies, however they rarely specifically recommend their use. Their workplace environment and clinical context influenced nurses’ willingness to communicate about complementary therapy use. Practice implications evidence: suggests the need for policy development to promote communication between mainstream healthcare providers and complementary therapy practitioners to support the delivery of safe, high quality patient care.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Patient Education and Counseling	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.pec.2018.03.010	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Public Health	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Humans	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Complementary Therapies	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Cross-Sectional Studies	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Nurse-Patient Relations	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Adult	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Middle Aged	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Australia	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Female	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Male	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Patient Education as Topic	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Surveys and Questionnaires	en_US
dc.title	Registered Nurses’ communication about patients’ use of complementary therapies: A national survey	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	8	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	101	en_US
utslib.for	1110 Nursing	en_US
utslib.for	11 Medical and Health Sciences	en_US
utslib.for	17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	8	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	101	en_US

Abstract:

© 2018 Elsevier B.V. Objective: To identify communication patterns of Registered Nurses regarding patients’ use of complementary therapies. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey conducted in 2017 recruited Australian Registered Nurses working in any area of nursing. Results: Responses of 614 Registered Nurses were analysed. Patient-initiated discussion of complementary therapies were common for 77% of nurses; nurse-initiated discussions were perceived by 73% (sometimes/almost always/always). Nurses’ personal use of complementary therapies predicted discussion with patients and education-based, oncology, or aged care/rehabilitation nurses were most likely to initiate dialogue. Many (55%) did not ‘recommend’ a particular therapy, although 12% ‘almost always/always’ did so. Four out of five nurses (84%) documented patients’ use and communicated with medical/nursing colleagues about this use. Conversely, 61% ‘never’ or ‘almost never’ communicated with a complementary therapy practitioner. Conclusion: Nurses working in Australia often discuss complementary therapies, however they rarely specifically recommend their use. Their workplace environment and clinical context influenced nurses’ willingness to communicate about complementary therapy use. Practice implications evidence: suggests the need for policy development to promote communication between mainstream healthcare providers and complementary therapy practitioners to support the delivery of safe, high quality patient care.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/134196