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Sunday, November 1, 2009
Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to identify the importance of questioning children and families regarding complementary and alternative medicine use in children.
Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to identify appropriate evidence-based sources of education for information related to complemetary and alternative medicine.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) refers to therapies outside of the realm of allopathic or traditional medicine. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), a division of the National Institutes of Health, defines CAM as “a broad domain of healing resources that encompasses all health systems modalities, and practices and their accompanying theories and beliefs, other than those intrinsic to the politically dominant health system of a particular society or culture in a given historical period” (National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2008
Due to the chronic manifestations of asthma and allergies, children are reporting increasing uses of CAM modalities in an attempt to improve quality of life and decrease severity of symptoms. Some of the risks of CAM are inherent to all individuals, but children remain at a higher risk due to their body size and differences in metabolizing drugs. Many herbal drugs are lacking in scientific study and have not been evaluated or tested for their use in children.
Pediatric Nurse Practitioners are in a primary position to evaluate pediatric patient’s use of CAM. Many Pediatric Nurse Practitioners do not ask their patients about usage of CAM and patients often do not voluntarily discuss CAM use due to misconceptions that CAM may be safe. CAM is not often discussed in Pediatric Nurse Practitioner education programs, which leads many Pediatric Nurse Practitioners to lack knowledge as to the safety, effectiveness, and possible interactions of CAM when combined with allopathic treatment regimens in the treatment of children. The goal of this research was to determine Pediatric Nurse Practitioners perceptions of the safety, effectiveness, and possible interactions of CAM with allopathic treatment so that in the future, education may be provided in Pediatric Nurse Practitioner educational programs to educate future practitioners regarding CAM therapies.
Due to the chronic manifestations of asthma and allergies, children are reporting increasing uses of CAM modalities in an attempt to improve quality of life and decrease severity of symptoms. Some of the risks of CAM are inherent to all individuals, but children remain at a higher risk due to their body size and differences in metabolizing drugs. Many herbal drugs are lacking in scientific study and have not been evaluated or tested for their use in children.
Pediatric Nurse Practitioners are in a primary position to evaluate pediatric patient’s use of CAM. Many Pediatric Nurse Practitioners do not ask their patients about usage of CAM and patients often do not voluntarily discuss CAM use due to misconceptions that CAM may be safe. CAM is not often discussed in Pediatric Nurse Practitioner education programs, which leads many Pediatric Nurse Practitioners to lack knowledge as to the safety, effectiveness, and possible interactions of CAM when combined with allopathic treatment regimens in the treatment of children. The goal of this research was to determine Pediatric Nurse Practitioners perceptions of the safety, effectiveness, and possible interactions of CAM with allopathic treatment so that in the future, education may be provided in Pediatric Nurse Practitioner educational programs to educate future practitioners regarding CAM therapies.