Журнал клинических исследований и биоэтики

Абстрактный

The Effects of Modern Health Worries and Psychological Distress on Complementary Medicine Use by Breast Cancer Patients

Gomes PLR, Gathsaurie Neelika Malavige, Fernando N, Mahendra MHR, Seneviratne JKK and Graham S Ogg

The current exploratory study looks at the relationship between modern health worries (MHWs), subjective health perception, depression, anxiety, self-esteem, body image as well as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in breast cancer patients. One hundred and one females (50 previously diagnosed with cancer) completed questionnaires measuring MHWs, health perceptions, psychological distress, self-esteem and body image. It was found that MHWs and health perceptions predicted CAM use whilst psychological distress did not. It was concluded that CAM use in breast cancer patients is not related to psychological distress, but may be related to a more physical health related function: patients engage with CAM use as a response to worries about health. Limitations of this small scale, crosssectional study are also noted.