Determinants of Complementary Therapy Use among Registered Nurses in an Acute Care Setting.

Introduction: Alternatives are needed to traditional care to help patients manage pain and discomfort in acute care settings. Complementary and integrative therapies (CITs) involve alternative medicine practices that are assimilated into conventional care. The degree to which registered nurses (RNs) use CIT in acute care settings, however, remains unclear. This study identified determinants of CIT use among RNs in a US hospital.

Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted. Nurse managers emailed invitations to study-eligible RNs, and the survey captured recent CIT use, as well as sociodemographic and training/experience exposures. Participants were employees in a western Wisconsin hospital. All participants were RNs at the target hospital and worked in acute care. CIT use was assessed with a single item that asked respondents to indicate which of 25 common CIT methods they have used or offered to patients.

Results: There were 164 respondents from 463 invited RNs (35% response rate). In the past 6 months, 79% reported the use of CIT with their patients. The most common practices were relaxed breathing, music therapy, essential oils, massage, and aromatherapy. The final multivariable logistic regression model found that RNs with ≥14 years of clinical experience had 72% lower odds of CIT use relative to those with 0-2 years of experience (p = 0.023). In addition, RNs who were married had 76% lower odds of CIT use relative to those not married (p = 0.017). Other factors such as age, gender, specialized CIT education, or nursing degree type had limited influence on CIT use.

Conclusion: The use of CIT was generally high in this sample of hospital RNs, particularly among those who were not married and who were trained more recently. Future research should examine RN-led CIT effectiveness on patient outcomes in clinical settings.