The Analysis of Trends in Complementary and Alternative Therapy (CAT) in Nursing Research in Korea.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze trends in complementary and alternative therapy in nursing research in Korea. Method: The researchers examined academic theses and dissertations published from 1990 to 2002, and 151 articles were used for the analysis. Result: Nursing research on CAT increased rapidly from 1995 Articles with quantitative research designs made up 93.9% of the total and there were more experimental studies than non-experimental studies. Patients who had surgery, mental disorders, renal failure, hypertension, arthritis, dementia & cancer were the most frequently participants in studies on CAT. The type of CAT used in nursing research were mind-body therapy (65.8%), manual healing therapy (28.7%), phamacologic & biological therapy (3.7%), bioelectromagnetics (0.9%) and herbal therapy (0.9%). In 44 articles both psychological and physiological parameters were used as dependent variables. In 34 articles only physiological parameters were used and in 13 only psychological parameters. The most frequently used physiological parameters in CAT were pain, physiological function and vital signs, while the most used psychological parameters were anxiety, depression and stress. Conclusion: More studies about CAT are needed to extend the role and fields for professional nursing. There is a need to conduct qualitative studies in nursing about the experiences of patients who receive CAT and nurses who use CAT.