Abstract
Numerous studies document the negative effects of stressors on physiological and psychological functioning. A number of complementary therapies are available to help moderate the effect of these stressors. However, there are few instruments available to help health care professionals determine what type of complementary therapies persons with cancer are using. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to design and test a reliable and valid survey instrument. A pilot version of the Complementary Therapy Rating Scale (CTRS) was distributed to 75 rural midwestern cancer patients using an anonymous survey technique. Thirty-two usable surveys were obtained, for a return rate of 43%. Item analysis demonstrated that 13 of the 14 items on the use and intent subscale were significantly correlated at the p < .000 level. The alpha coefficient was .77. Therefore, the results can be considered reliable for use with this population. Of the 14 therapies listed, every therapy except acupuncture was currently being used by at least one person. Most of the persons surveyed (88%) were currently using at least one complementary therapy, with prayer being the most popular. However, even with the results for prayer removed, 81% of the participants were still using at least one of the remaining 13 complementary therapies. Preliminary data from this survey indicate that younger people and women are most interested in the use of complementary therapies, but males may be interested in specific recreational types of therapies.
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