RECENT RESEARCH
design . Inpatient palliative care patients were offered massage provided by a caregiver , following training . Caregiver massage therapy was provided up to five days post training . Patients and caregivers completed self-report measures of satisfaction for the five-day intervention , while caregivers rated massage-related burden and confidence . Healthcare professionals working in inpatient palliative care participated in a focus group , during which enablers and barriers to caregiver massage therapy were explored .
Results : Over the three-month recruitment period , 62 participants were available for recruitment . Of these , 23 ( 37 %) consented to caregiver massage . Caregiver burden was highest on day 2 ( mean 2.9 / 5 ) while confidence was highest on day 4 ( mean 4.1 / 5 ). Caregivers and patients were satisfied with the massage training sessions , and patients reported perceptions of comfort during subsequent sessions . Staff-identified enablers to caregiver massage therapy included patient symptom improvement and caregiver empowerment but considered caregiver massage potentially burdensome for caregivers .
Conclusion : Caregiver massage training is feasible , with a modest acceptance within an inpatient palliative care unit . Enablers of massage therapy in inpatient palliative care were caregiver empowerment , but this model was perceived as potentially burdensome for caregivers by healthcare professionals . Highlights : Caregiver massage training is feasible with a modest acceptance within an inpatient palliative care unit . Caregivers reported increased confidence with massage provision during consecutive sessions . Patients reported the training to be effective and considerate of their needs . Healthcare staff identified caregiver massage therapy was enabled by symptom improvement .
Naturopathy
Steel A , Brand S , Leach M , Lloyd I , Ward V . Patient-shared knowledge and information in clinical decision-making : an international survey of the perspectives and experiences of naturopathic practitioners . BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies . 2023 ; 23 , Article number : 247 .
Introduction : Most knowledge translation models pay relatively little attention to patient-held knowledge and are largely based on the premise that researchers and clinicians hold all valuable knowledge , and patients are passive recipients of such knowledge . Counter to this clinician- and researchercentred lens is a growing interest and awareness of patients as experts in their health . While naturopathic medicine is described and experienced as a patientcentred system of traditional medicine , the position of patient-held knowledge is unclear particularly when considered alongside their use of other more objective forms of knowledge such as research evidence .
Methods : This international online cross-sectional survey aimed to explore naturopathic practitioners ’ perceptions of the value and contribution of patientshared knowledge and information within the context of naturopathic clinical consultations .
Results : The survey was completed by 453 naturopathic practitioners ( response rate : 74.3 %). Approximately two-thirds ( 68.2 %) of respondents reported using information shared by the patient . Most rated ‘ information provided by the patient ’ as either ‘ extremely important ’ ( 60.7 %) or ‘ very important ’ ( 31.4 %) to patients . Highest levels of trust were reported for information provided by the patient (‘ completely ’: 9.9 %; ‘ a lot ’: 53.6 %). Most practitioners indicated they trusted knowledge and information derived from the patient ’ s personal health history ‘ completely ’ ( n = 79 ; 21.8 %) or ‘ a lot ’ ( n = 226 ; 62.4 %) from the patient ’ s perspective of living with a health condition (‘ completely ’ [ n = 63 , 17.4 %]; ‘ a lot ’ [ n = 224 , 61.9 %]). Patients were the highest ranked stakeholder group ( mean : 1.5 ) perceived to influence NP use of patient experience of living with a health condition to inform clinical decisionmaking .
Conclusion : Researchers and policy makers are increasingly focused on the value of the ‘ expert patient ’ in clinical decision-making , yet health professionals ’ report challenges and , in some cases , resistance to meaningfully engaging with patient-shared knowledge in practice . However , our study has found patient-shared knowledge – inclusive of patient experience of their health condition – is among the knowledge used and trusted by naturopathic practitioners to inform their clinical decision-making . This study both offers insights into the knowledge translation behaviours of an underresearched health profession and provides a novel contribution to the wider aim of adopting patient-shared knowledge into clinical care more generally .
Nutrition
Fu Z , Lv J , Gao X , Zheng H , Shi S , Xu X , Zhang B , Wu H , Song Q . Effects of garlic supplementation on components of metabolic syndrome : a systematic review , meta-analysis , and metaregression of randomized controlled trials / BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies . 2023 : 23 , Article number : 260 .
Background : Garlic ( Allium sativum ), the underground bulb of the Allium genus , has been consumed on Earth for thousands of years . Many clinical trials of garlic supplementation on components of metabolic syndrome ( MetS ) have emerged in recent years , but there is no consensus on the effect . This meta-analysis aimed at systematically evaluating the effect of garlic supplementation on components of MetS .
Methods : In this meta-analysis , we searched Pubmed , Embase , Cochrane , Medline , Web of Science databases , and clinical trials online sites from inception to November 1 , 2022 , with language restrictions to English . We engaged participants > 18 years and eligible for the clinical diagnosis of MetS or those with metabolic disorders and garlic was the only intervention . Outcomes included waist circumference , and body mass index , triglycerides , total cholesterol , low-density lipoprotein cholesterol , high-density lipoprotein cholesterol , blood pressure , and fasting blood glucose .
170 | vol29 | no3 | JATMS