• Hanna Admi, Yael Eilon-Moshe, and Eran Ben-Arye.
• Rambam Health Care Campus.
• Oncol Nurs Forum. 2017 Sep 1; 44 (5): 553-561.

Purpose/ObjectivesTo describe hospital nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding complementary medicine (CM); to compare the knowledge and attitudes of nurse managers to staff nurses with diverse oncology experience; and to assess attitudes toward integrating CM into the role of the hospital oncology nurse. 
.DesignDescriptive, cross-sectional study.
.SettingRambam Health Care Campus in northern Israel.
.SampleA convenience sample of 434 hospital nurses with varied oncology experience.
.MethodsNurses completed a knowledge and attitude questionnaire developed for the current study. Data were analyzed using parametric and nonparametric statistical tests. 
.Main Research VariablesHospital nurses' knowledge of and attitudes toward CM, and attitudes toward integrating CM into the role of the hospital oncology nurse.
.FindingsNurses lack knowledge and are unaware of the risks associated with CM. However, they believe this approach can improve the quality of life of patients with cancer; 51% expressed an interest in receiving training. Oncology nurses were ambivalent about the feasibility of applying an integrative approach, whereas nurse managers expressed significantly more positive attitudes toward integrating CM within the scope of nursing practices.
.ConclusionsA large discrepancy remains between nurses' strong interest in CM and awareness of associated benefits, and their ambivalence toward its integration in their nursing practice. 
.Implications For NursingAlthough improving nurses' knowledge should be mandatory, it remains insufficient; a shift in the approach to integrating CM into conventional health care is needed, from practitioners' responsibility to healthcare policymakers' responsibility. Legislations and policies are necessary, along with providing respectable infrastructures.

30 keywords...

hide…