Abstract

This is a multi-centre evaluation of complementary therapy (CT) services for cancer patients. This project, funded by the Big Lottery Fund (National Lottery) sought to explore service provision in three centres providing complementary therapies for patients with cancer. The evaluation centred upon three elements: access to the service, expectations of complementary therapies, and indications for receiving the therapies. The evaluation involved three stakeholder groups; patients accessing the services, the therapists delivering complementary therapies, and health care professionals referring, or otherwise, to complementary therapies. Data were collected by means of questionnaire surveys, in-depth interviews and documentary analysis. The study has yielded a large body of data, with main findings including differences in utilisation of CTs (eg by gender and cancer site), lack of formal indications for referring patients for specific CTs and differences in the stakeholder groups' perceptions of the purposes and potential benefits of CTs.