The impact of acculturation on the use of traditional Chinese medicine in newly diagnosed Chinese cancer patients.

Goals Of Work: This study assessed the impact of acculturation on the prevalence of traditional Chinese medicine and other complementary and alternative medicine (TCM/CAM) use in newly diagnosed Chinese cancer patients. The individual determinants of TCM/CAM use among patients were also investigated.

Materials And Methods: A consecutive sample of Chinese cancer patients treated at the British Columbia Cancer Agency was surveyed at admission using a 15-item questionnaire.

The status of complementary therapy services in Canadian palliative care settings.

Goal Of Work: Little is known about complementary therapy services (CTs) available in Canadian palliative care settings.

Materials And Methods: An online survey was e-mailed to multiple Canadian palliative care settings to determine the types and frequency of CTs provided and allowed, who are the CT providers, funding of CT services, and barriers to the provision of CTs.

Main Results: The response rate was 54% (74/136).

Spirituality and treatment choices by South and East Asian women with serious mental illness.

The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate how South and East Asian immigrant women who have diagnoses of serious mental illness make treatment choices in relation to spirituality and to explore how gender, cultural beliefs, and spirituality intersect with the process of choice. The findings reveal that the process of spiritual choice includes three interrelated phases: (1) identifying contributing factors, (2) exploring spiritual resources and strategies, and (3) living with the choices. Variations among health beliefs and health care decisions are explained and services that women see as being helpful are identified.

An integrative review of the concept of spirituality in the health sciences.

Spirituality is a universal human phenomenon, yet confusion and incomprehension of the concept is ever-present. The purpose of this study was to explore how research on the concept of spirituality has been reported in the health literature in the past decade and develop an ontological and theoretical understanding of spirituality. The examination was based on quantitative and qualitative integrative review approaches, which integrated empirical research on spirituality.