The role of naturopathy in hospital care

The high patient satisfaction and the strong therapy loyalty in holistic acute care facilities such as those considered here should arouse the interest of the hospital administration.

Naturopathic treatment in hospitals in Germany is regulated by the operating and procedural catalog (OPS), which defines the requirements for naturopathic care in these facilities. For example, it is stipulated that the care team has to evaluate the treatment goals at least twice a week. Specific naturopathic therapies and the minimum of management are also determined. For example, at least 5 out of 8 designated management facilities must be used in naturopathic care. Naturopathic care in this inpatient setting was followed by the European traditions of naturopathy and Asian naturopathic practices

Naturopathic care initially included methods with scientifically proven effectiveness. If no study evidence was available, the use of methods with many years of empirical evidence was considered acceptable.

study parameters evaluated

hospital patients were examined before the medical admission based on extensive validated questionnaires, so that all members of the nursing team had sound information about the health status of the patients. The questionnaires included the Hanover Functional Status Questionnaire, the Visual Analogue Scale, the Mainz Pain Staging System and the Nottingham Health Profile. Diagnoses (primary and secondary) were provided or confirmed after taking it.

At the end of their hospital stay, the patients filled up surveys in writing and anonymously, who after their satisfaction with the integration of naturopathic care, including their perception of the therapy loyalty and their satisfaction with the time required by the nursing staff, asked them during their inpatient stay. Disruptive factors were reduced by using the same conditions for distributing the surveys.

primary result measurements

The primary result measurements included the following, which resulted from the surveys: 1) the evaluation of holistic care measures; 2) holistic care measures and influence on adherence; and 3) the time that the nursing staff expends to communication with the patients. The patients used the following grades to assess satisfaction: grade 1 = very good; Grade 2 = good; Grade 3 = satisfactory; Note 4 = sufficient; Note 5 = bad, grade 6 = insufficient; draw. The grading scale was adapted to the German school grading system so that it is generally understandable.

important knowledge

holistic care measures, including naturopathy, were rated “very good” by 62 % of respondents and 28 % with “good”; 42.5 % of the participants answered the question. The perception of the effect of care on the loyalty to therapy was similarly positive, with 69 % of the therapy loyalty as "very good" and 24 % as "good"; The return rate was 43.5 %. The time that the nursing staff has spent on communication with patients was rated by 61 % of the participants with "very good", 28 % with "good" and 5 % with "satisfactory". The response rate for this question was 42.5 %.

The assignment of the diagnoses showed that most patients were taken up due to diseases and disorders of the musculoskeletal system and the connective tissue, followed by diseases of the nervous system, mental illnesses and disorders, diseases of the circulatory system as well as diseases of the endocrine system and metabolism.

practice implications

The results of the patient surveys in this study showed a high level of satisfaction with the combination of naturopathy and conventional medicine (in the work defined as "evidence -based conventional medicine, which is guaranteed by specialists") within an inpatient acute facility in Germany. Studies of this kind provide information that speak for a stronger integration of naturopathic care in the medical care systems of the countries around the world.

According to a report by the National Center for Health Statistics, the use of therapies of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has increased in the United States between 2002 and 2007; In 2007, 38 % of adults used some form of cam. 1 The report also found that the therapies used by members of the public had little correlation with the number of published studies on certain CAM therapies or with the most common therapies recommended by doctors. The integration of naturopathic care in the inpatient hospital care would offer better and possibly cheaper access to naturopathic care, which would offer a possibility for more secure and effective use of CAM treatment.

The high patient satisfaction and the strong therapy loyalty in holistic acute care facilities such as those considered here should arouse the interest of the hospital administration. The Canadian College of Naturalopathic Medicine operates a teaching clinic for outpatient care in the Brampton Civic Hospital and has patient satisfaction of more than 90 % in patients in the clinic. In addition, there is increasing evidence of the effectiveness of naturopathic treatments 2-5 and the economic advantages of naturopathic care for the patient and the health service provider. ^{6.7 This findings are now spreading in forums that encourage group insurance providers and health organizations (HMOS), the naturopathic treatment for reasons of Customer/patient satisfaction, better faithful to therapy and economy to integrate better into care.}