The Attitudes of Cancer Patients with Nausea and Vomiting Symptoms to Complementary and Holistic Treatments: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

The study was performed to determine theattitude of cancer patients with symptoms of nausea and vomiting towards complementary and holistic treatment. Material and Methods:The study sample included the 138 cancer patients with 3 or more nausea and vomiting according to Visual Anolog Scale were included inthe study. Information Form, Attitudes towards Holistic Complementary and Alternative Medicine Scale, The Rhodes Index of Nausea, Vomiting, and Retching were used as data collection of this study. Results:Cancer patients were found to have a positive attitude towards complementary and holistic therapy. Although cancer patients participatingin the study often experienced nausea and vomiting, symptom distresswas also low. There was a positive correlation between symptom frequency and the symptom occurrence and holistic health dimensions(p˂0.05). Moreover, a positive correlation was found between thesymptom occurrence of the patients and their attitudes towards alternative medicine (p˂0.05). Conclusion: Cancer patients have a positiveattitude towards complementary and holistic therapy in relieving thesymptoms of nausea and vomiting. It is recommended to create guidelines for determining effective strategies and using them properly inmixed therapi