Advising cancer patients on natural health products--a structured approach.

BACKGROUND

Many patients with cancer (45-60%) use natural health products (NHPs). Pharmacists often find it difficult to advise these patients effectively.

OBJECTIVE

To explore pharmacists' perceptions of the information needed to advise cancer patients on NHPs and develop a structured counseling approach.

METHODS

A qualitative study was conducted using a focus group of pharmacists from an integrated cancer care organization in Canada. The outcome measures were the definitions of and reasons for the information needed to advise patients on NHPs and a counseling approach using laymen terms.

RESULTS

Eight focus group sessions took place, from which 6 categories of information emerged: role of the advisor, evaluation of evidence, assessment of efficacy, assessment of toxicity, monitoring parameters, and provision of a closure. A patient counseling approach was developed based on this information.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings provided a description of and rationale for categories of information needed to advise cancer patients on NHPs. A structured, step-by-step approach to counseling these patients was developed.