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Personal use and professional recommendations of
complementary and alternative medicine by Hong
Kong Registered Nurses
Charlie CL Xue,
Anthony L Zhang,
Eleanor Holroyd,
Lorna KP Suen
Division of Chinese Medicine, School
of Health Sciences, The WHO
Collaborating Centre for Traditional
Medicine, RMIT University, Melbourne,
Australia
OBJECTIVE. To provide an understanding of Hong Kong registered nurses’Äô
personal and professional use of complementary and alternative
medicine.
DESIGN. Cross-sectional questionnaire study.
PARTICIPANTS. Registered nurses who were members of the Hong Kong College
of Nursing were invited to participate.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES. Demographic data of the respondents, prevalence of personal
and professional use of complementary and alternative
medicines, including their use for detailed clinical conditions.
RESULTS. A total of 187 nurses participated in this study. Nearly four fifths
(80%; 95% confidence interval, 74-86%) of the participants had
used at least one form of complementary/alternative medicine.
In addition to the personal use of such treatment, over two fifths
(41%; 95% confidence interval, 34-48%) had recommended at
least one form of complementary/alternative medicine to their
patients. These included bone-setting (20%), Chinese remedial
massage (tuina, 19%), and meditation (19%). Specifically,
registered nurses recommended acupuncture or acupressure
to patients with musculoskeletal disorders, chronic pain, or
headaches/migraines.
CONCLUSIONS. Personal use and professional recommendations for
complementary and alternative medicine by registered nurses
in Hong Kong is substantial. Registered nurses played an active
role in advising such treatment for their patients based on their
personal knowledge of perceived benefit in specific conditions.
Further investigations with a larger sample size should focus on
registered nurses’Äô educational needs in respect to complementary
and alternative medicine and the advice they recommended.
Hong Kong Med J 2008;14:Epub 2008 Feb 1
Key words: Complementary therapies; Health
personnel; Medicine, Chinese traditional;
Nurses; Utilization review
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