薬理と治療

Abstract

Objective This study aimed to elucidate the perspective of patients with chronic diseases on the relationship between their motivation to communicate regarding complementary and alternative medicine（CAM）use and past reactions of physicians（negative or supportive）. Methods A questionnaire was administered to 428 patients about their experiences of disclosing CAM use to physicians, the physiciansʼ reaction, and patientsʼ motivation to communicate regarding CAM in the future. Results In total, 277 patients（65.3％）had discussed CAM with their physicians, with 83 （30.2％）experiencing a negative reaction（i. e., denial of therapy efficacy, with no reason╱information provided）and 217（79.2％） experiencing a supportive reaction（i. e., empathy）. Furthermore, 175 patients （63.6％）wished to communicate to the physician regarding CAM in the future. Logistic regression analysis of factors related to the patient willingness to communicate was performed, with physiciansʼ reactions as an additional independent variable. Results indicated that patientsʼ communicative and critical health literacy（P＝0.030, OR＝1.61）and physiciansʼ empathic reaction（P＝0.033, OR＝1.33）were significantly associated with willingness to communicate. Conclusion Patients who had higher communicative and critical health literacy and experienced an empathic reaction by the physician were more likely to wish to communicate with a physician about CAM use in the future. While it is necessary to educate patients to enhance their communicative and critical health literacy, an empathic reaction by the physician may enhance the patientsʼ willingness to communicate about CAM, contributing to good communication.