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Objectives: The purpose of this study was to systematically review the literature to describe the knowledge, attitude and practice of CAM by nurses., Methods: Three databases were searched for relevant studies from launch through September of 2017 and included MEDLINE, Scopus and Web of science., Results: The average knowledge of CAM therapies by nurses was 62.2% with attitude about use averaging 65.7%. Close to two-thirds (65.9%) reported use of CAM therapies with patients. The primary reasons nurses suggested use of CAM were for stress and anxiety reduction and health improvement., Conclusion: Current evidence demonstrates the need for nurse education programs to integrate and strengthen CAM content into existing curricula. Similarly, documentation of the nature and extent of nurse use of CAM therapies in the clinical setting, as well as patient-reported use and preferences for CAM therapies, would provide valuable prospective data., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Patients are showing an increasing interest in the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Most nurses are open to the adoption of CAM into clinical nursing practice, but they may experience a lack of knowledge about the safe and effective use of these therapies. Several studies concerning nurses' knowledge and attitudes toward CAM have been published, but only in one, the authors (Shorofi and Arbon) used a validated questionnaire. In Italy, there are no validated questionnaires to investigate this aspect of nursing practice., Purpose: To test the psychometric properties of the Italian Shorofi and Arbon questionnaire for use with Italian nurses., Methods: A forward-backward translation method was used to translate the questionnaire from English to Italian. Content validity, face validity and reliability were established., Results and Conclusions: This study examined the potential usefulness of the Shorofi and Arbon questionnaire for the evaluation of CAM knowledge of Italian speaking nurses, which showed good content validity and good reliability.

Objective: This study was intended to examine CAM among Australian hospital-based nurses, identifying their knowledge, attitude, personal and professional use, reasons for use, CAM referrals, and socio-demographic predictors of CAM users., Methods and Materials: Nurses holding a qualification in nursing and working in surgical wards were included using a convenience sampling technique. A self-complete questionnaire was developed to achieve the aims of the study. Descriptive and non-parametric statistics were calculated to describe and analyse data., Results: Overall, 95.7% and 49.7% of nurses reported personal and professional use of CAM, respectively. The most popular CAM/CAM domain personally and professionally used by nurses was massage therapy and mind-body therapies. The primary reason for personal use of CAM was "[it] fits into my way of life/philosophy". Furthermore, massage therapists were the most commonly recommended CAM practitioners to patients. Only 15.8% of nurses would always ask patients about use of herbal medicines as part of nursing history taking. Over one-fifth (22.4%) of nurses rated their attitude as having a very positive, and 60.3% rated themselves as having very little or no knowledge of CAM. A positive correlation was also found between knowledge and attitude about CAM. Positive attitude and higher knowledge about CAM were positively correlated to CAM referrals. Several socio-demographic factors predicted personal and professional use of CAM., Conclusion: This study revealed that nurses generally believe not to have sufficient knowledge of CAM but are open to use CAM with patients. Nurses' positive attitude toward and personal use of CAM could be an indication that they are poised for further integration of evidence-based CAM into nursing practice to treat whole person., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: This paper reports a study to examine hospitalised patients' frequency and patterns of CAM use, their reasons for CAM use, their preferences of CAMs during hospitalisation, and the association between patients' socio-demographic variables and use of each individual CAM/CAM domain., Methods: A convenience sample of 353 patients hospitalised in 19 surgical wards at four metropolitan hospitals completed a questionnaire on CAM use and socio-demographic variables., Results: The response rate was 73.5%, and over 90% of the sample acknowledged using CAMs. Non-herbal supplements (60.3%) and massage therapy (45%) were the most frequently used CAMs, with biologically based therapies (68.8%) as well as mind-body interventions (65.4%) being the most often used CAM domains. About 1 in 10 patients (9.6%) used CAMs from all five domains. With the exception of herbal-botanical therapies, self-prayer for health reasons/spiritual healing and music therapy, all CAMs were mainly used on an 'only when needed' basis. The most common reason nominated for using CAMs was that '[it] fits into my way of life/philosophy' (26%). The majority of patients declared interest in and support for the hospital providing CAMs. Patients were most inclined to choose therapies categorised as manipulative and body-based methods (65.4%) for use in hospital. Massage therapy (53.5%) and non-herbal supplements (43.1%) were the top two CAMs favoured for use in hospital. CAM use was also dependent of socio-demographic data (age, gender, marital status, place of residence, education level, religion, and income in hospitalised patients)., Conclusion: The use of CAMs is pervasive amongst surgical in-patients, making it feasible to initially assess these patients for CAM use and provide them with clinically approved CAMs where possible. Notwithstanding that CAM use is fairly predictable by socio-demographic variables, further studies should be directed to know the variables useful for predicting the use of each CAM approach., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To determine nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and professional use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) at five metropolitan hospitals in Adelaide, while also investigating the relationships between socio-demographic factors and use of CAM domains., Method: Information on nurses' demographics, knowledge, attitudes, and professional use of CAM was obtained using a self-administered questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive and non-parametric statistics., Results: Almost 50% of nurses were using CAM for patients, with mind-body interventions being the most common form of CAM domain used in practice (31.4%). While 59% of nurses were positive about CAM, more than 60% of them had very little or no knowledge of CAM. Nurses' professional use of CAM was also associated with diverse socio-demographic factors, and a positive association was found between the nurses' knowledge and their attitudes towards CAM., Conclusion: Nurses have limited knowledge of CAM but remain open towards CAM use. Nurses' positive attitudes towards CAM use could be an indication that they are poised for further integration of clinically approved CAM into nursing care of patients., (Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Purpose: To identify patients' report of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use, along with their knowledge, their attitudes, and their use/willingness to use CAM., Methods: A total of 353 patients were recruited through a 'convenience' sampling method in four metropolitan hospitals in Adelaide. Data were collected by means of questionnaires with open- and close-ended questions., Results: The prevalence of CAM use among patients was 90.4%; although a considerable proportion of patients using CAM did not disclose this information to nurses/doctors (39.9%) and 20.7% said they would report it as "only when needed/or if asked to". A high proportion of patients reported using non-herbal supplements (60.3%) and massage therapy (45%) while most forms of therapies were mainly used "only when needed". The CAM domain most frequently used was biologically based therapies (68.8%). Patients rated themselves as having "none" (24.4%) or "very little" (42.5%) knowledge about most CAM, although nearly half (46.4%) of them had a positive attitude towards CAM. Use, knowledge, and attitudes towards CAM were also associated with diverse socio-demographic variables. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the use of CAM by patients., (Crown Copyright 2009. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)