Resumo

ADAM, Ammaarah Sheik; BANGALEE, Varsha  e  OOSTHUIZEN, Frasia. The use of traditional and complementary medicine by cancer patients in SSA: A scoping review. Health SA Gesondheid (Online) [online]. 2024, vol.29, pp.1-12. ISSN 2071-9736.  https://doi.org/10.4102/hsag.v29i0.2743.

BACKGROUND: The rate of traditional and complementary medicine (T) use is increasing worldwide, including among cancer patients who are often willing to try alternate therapies. Despite T popularity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), there are limited data on its use with conventional treatments. AIM: This scoping review aims to describe the prevalence of use, reasons for use, most common types of T used, patient satisfaction with T and disclosure of T use to physicians among cancer patients in SSA. METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted for articles published from 2013 to 2022 across four databases: PubMed, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar and EBSCOhost. A scoping review approach was used to map relevant literature. Forty-six articles were assessed based on their titles and abstracts. After full-text screening, 10 articles were included. RESULTS: Average T use was calculated to be 66.7%. Reasons for T use included: to improve psychological well-being, boost the body's immunity and provide symptomatic relief. An average of 21.2% of T users informed their physician. Nine articles addressed patient satisfaction with T An average of 39.1% of patients reported general T satisfaction. CONCLUSION: The use of T is common among cancer patients. It is important for healthcare providers to expand their knowledge in order to counsel patients and avoid potential hazards when combining T with conventional treatments. CONTRIBUTION: These findings highlight commonly used T and provide insight on the portion of cancer patients informing their doctors about T use. This information will help understand the attitude cancer patients have towards T

Palavras-chave : complementary medicine; alternative medicine; traditional medicine; cancer patients; sub-Saharan Africa.

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