Discovering the Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Oncology Patients: A Systematic Literature Review

Background. Patients with cancer pursue all possible opportunities of effective remedies. In Saudi Arabia, most patients have tried complementary medicine during their cancer treatment plan; however, some complementary medicines might pose a danger to health. In Arab countries, studies regarding the use of complementary medicines and the intentions behind using complementary medicines among cancer patients are inadequate and all but nonexistent. The aim of this review was to focus on demographic, prevalence, and reasons for complementary and alternative medicine use among patients with cancer. Methods. A rigorous literature search was conducted for articles published in the English language, using the search terms “complementary and alternative medicine,” “oncology,” “malignancy” AND “cancer patients” in five scientific databases, namely, Medical Literature On-Line (MEDLINE), PubMed, Web of Science, Psychology Information (PsycINFO), and Google Scholar, from 2010 to 2020. Results. Of the 13,160 studies returned from the search, only 12 were eligible and included in this review. The combined prevalence for using complementary and alternative medicines across all studies totaled 25%–80% of cancer patients for the treatment of their cancers. Natural products, including vitamins and minerals, herbal products, and relaxation, were the most common type of complementary and alternative medicines used. The reason for using complementary and alternative medicines was reported to be their helpfulness in recovering, healing, and improving health. Most of the studies mentioned that participants obtained their complementary and alternative medicines from multiple sources, including the media, family and friends, and physicians. Conclusion. The use of complementary and alternative medicines in cancer patients can be inferred as an attempt to investigate all possibilities, a manifestation of a coping style, or an illustration of unmet desires in the cancer management continuum. Anyhow, there should be adequate communication between healthcare providers and patients, which is crucial for establishing a trusting healthcare provider-patient relationship. Relevance to clinical practice. It is crucial that healthcare providers explore the use of complementary and alternative medicines with their cancer patients, as well as educating them about the possible usefulness of therapies based on the available evidence

Prevalence of Low Back Pain and Associated Risk Factors among Nurses at King Abdulaziz University Hospital

Aim: To determine the prevalence of LBP and the associated risk factors among nurses at King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH). Methods: A cross-sectional study design was adopted with a convenience sample of 234 nurses recruited from nine different departments at KAUH in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Participants completed the questionnaire, which had two parts: Part I: Socio-demographic data, medical factors, and work-related factors; and Part II: Standardized Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire was used to obtain data. Data collection was carried out from March to April 2020. Data were analyzed using the SPSS version 22. Results: Cumulative prevalence of LBP was 82.9%, annual prevalence was 85.5%, while one-week prevalence of LBP was 53.6%. The factor significantly associated with LBP over the past 12 months was manual lifting of patients (p = 0.030). Nurses working in surgical wards had higher prevalence of LBP. About 24.7% of them changed their working unit, hospitalization was necessary for 11.9%, and 39.8% sought medical care. Conclusions: The findings from this study may better enable policymakers to adopt certain strategies toward reducing the burdens and challenges of LBP among nurses

The Level of Lymphedema Awareness among Women with Breast Cancer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Background: Lymphedema is a condition in which excessive fluid accumulates in soft tissues. It is a common complication of breast cancer treatments. It can lead to serious consequences and interfere with the activity of daily living. This study aimed to determine the level of awareness of breast-cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) among women with breast cancer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This was a descriptive quantitative cross-sectional design that included a convenience sample of women diagnosed with breast cancer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Data were collected by distributing a self-administrated online questionnaire consisting of four parts, including demographic data (five items), the status of education about BCRL (three items), basic medical history of breast cancer (six items), and BCRL level of awareness of risk factors and management (nine items). Results: In total, 95 out of 135 of participants did not know about lymphedema, 119 of the participants (88.1%) did not receive any explanation about the possibility of lymphedema from their medical team before surgery, and 121 of them (89.6%) did not receive it after surgery. The most significant factor affecting participants’ level of awareness regarding BCRL was the lack of information about the possibility of BCRL occurrence, which was not provided to them by the medical team. Recommendation: Early and continuous education for future management is essential to prevent problems related to BCRL and improve quality of life

Psychological Distress among Healthcare Workers with Chronic Diseases during the COVID-19 Crisis

Background. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are a vulnerable group to psychological distress (PD) because they are subjected to strict working conditions, and the nature of the work implies a heavy level of emotional involvement. Objective. This study is aimed at determining psychological distress among healthcare workers with chronic diseases during the COVID-19 crisis. Methods. This was a quantitative cross-sectional correlation study. An online self-administered questionnaire was completed from July 2021 to October 2021 by a convenience sample of 302 HCWs at two primary healthcare centers in Saudi Arabia. The Kessler psychological distress scale was used to assess psychological distress among HCWs. Results. The prevalence of HCWs who contracted COVID-19 was 59.9%. The overall mean score of K10 was 4.38 (SD=0.706). The majority of HCWs that had the highest percentage of a very high level of distress were female (66.2%), between the ages of 30 and 40 years (35.1%), had more than 10 years of work experience (48.0%), and were nurses (49.7%), married (61.6%), and infected with COVID-19 (59.9%). There was a significant association between the age, working experience, and PD scores of the HCWs P value < 0.05. A significant correlation between each of the variables of (heart disease, high blood pressure, lung disease, diabetes, ulcer, anemia, depression, and back pain) and PD whereas the P value < 0.05 and the R value < 0.3. Conclusion. HCWs with associated comorbidities have been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a very high level of PD among the studied population. HCWs with hypertension and back pain were the most affected by psychological distress, and emotional distress could be exacerbated if the HCWs contracted COVID-19

Maintaining Clinical Training Continuity during COVID-19 Pandemic: Nursing Students&rsquo; Perceptions about Simulation-Based Learning

Background: Simulation-based learning (SBL) in nursing education is an innovative pedagogical approach that has significantly improved nursing education. Adopting SBL provides a controlled environment for meeting educational objectives without the risk of harm to real patients. Given that social distancing is required during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, SBL is a suitable alternative to clinical training for nursing students to learn and acquire the required clinical competencies. The study aimed to describe the effectiveness of SBL as a complete substitute for clinical experience from the perspective of students. This cross-sectional descriptive survey investigated students&rsquo; perceptions regarding the description of the effectiveness of SBL in four nursing colleges at four different universities across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Settings: Four nursing colleges at four different universities across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Participants included nursing students who attended simulation sessions. Data were collected by distributing a self-administrated online questionnaire, the Modified Simulation Effectiveness Tool (SET-M), which is a 19-item. Results: Approximately two-thirds of the participants were in their third (30.4%) and fourth (44.5%) academic year. The highest student presentation was for Site 1 (39.5%) and Site 2 (32.5%). Significant differences existed in all domains according to sex and university (p &le; 0.001). There was a significant difference in relation to the level of agreement for pre-briefing, scenario, and debriefing domains (&lt;0.001). Conclusions: SBL is a valuable teaching strategy that enhances nursing students&rsquo; self-awareness, self-confidence, clinical performance, and efficiency in performing procedures with considerable gender variation. Female students had more positive perceptions toward simulation effectiveness

Effects of Postpartum Fatigue and Depressive Cognitions on Life Satisfaction and Quality of Life in Arab Postpartum Women: The Intervening Role of Resourcefulness

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationships among postpartum fatigue (PPF), depressive cognitions, resourcefulness, quality of life, and life satisfaction in Arab postpartum mothers. A conceptual framework is used in this study based on the middle range theory of resourcefulness, which Zauszniewski developed in 2006. The study is a cross-sectional descriptive design with 123 postpartum women who had given birth within the past six months. used WhatsApp and Facebook for recruitment. developed the self-administered online survey in Qualtrics and collected data from 6 January 2017, to 6 February 2017. Correlation analysis is used to address the research aim and used the P value of 0.05 to determine the significance of the results. There were significant correlations among depressive cognitions and resourcefulness, life satisfaction, and quality of life; there were also significant correlations between PPF and life satisfaction, as well as among resourcefulness, quality of life, and life satisfaction. The results of this study emphasized the importance of assessing depressive symptoms and PPF in mothers early in the postpartum period. The results may contribute to designing future intervention studies aimed toward decreasing the risk of mothers with PPF developing more serious depressive symptoms

The Perceptions of Nurses and Nursing Students Regarding Family Involvement in the Care of Hospitalized Adult Patients

Over the past few decades, there have been concerns regarding the humanization of healthcare and the involvement of family members in patients’ hospital care. The attitudes of hospitals toward welcoming families in this respect have improved. In Arab culture, the main core of society is considered to be the family, not the individual. The objective behind involving family in patient care is to meet patients’ support needs. Consequently, this involvement affects nurses and their attitudes toward the importance of family involvement in patient care. Objectives: To describe nurses’ and nursing students’ perceptions of family involvement in the care of hospitalized adult patients in Saudi Arabia. Design: This study used a quantitative descriptive cross-sectional design. The data were collected using a convenience sampling survey via social media. Results: A total of 270 participants (staff and students) took part in this study, including 232 (85.9%) females and 38 (14.1%) males. Moreover, a high percentage of participants (78.8%) acknowledged that family presence strongly affected the improvement of the patient’s condition. However, 69.3% of participants thought that involving family members during special care processes or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) would be traumatizing for these individuals. Moreover, there was a significant diffidence between the attitudes of the nurses and nursing students toward family involvement and the number of years of employment (F = 3.60, p &lt; 0.05). On the contrary, there were insignificant differences between the attitudes of the nurses and nursing students toward family involvement and their gender, nationality, age, education level, and years of work experience in Saudi Arabia (p &gt; 0.05). Furthermore, the regression analysis showed a significant negative correlation between nurses’ years of employment and their support of family involvement in patient care (ß = −0.20, SE = 0.08, t = −2.70, p = 0.01). Conclusions: Nurses with more experience showed no support for family involvement in patient care. We have to consider the clinical barriers that affect nurses’ support for family involvement in patient-centered care, such as hospital polices, guidelines, and the model used for family-centered care integration in the hospital system to facilitate the interaction between healthcare providers and family members