Identifying cultural, demographic, personal health and cancer-related barriers to integrative oncology care: a retrospective case–cohort study

Purpose Integrative oncology (IO) provides complementary and integrative medicine within conventional supportive and palliative cancer care. The present study set out to identify barriers to attending an integrative physician (IP) consultation, provided without charge within an IO treatment program. Study methods Electronic files of adult oncology patients undergoing chemotherapy were studied. Patient-related characteristics were examined to identify factors associated with attendance at the IP consultation: socio-demographic (age, gender, country of birth, place of residence, primary language spoken); health- related (BMI, smoking, independent functioning); and cancer- related (primary tumor site, localized vs. metastatic). Results Only 257 of the 1912 patients studied (13.4%) attended the IP consultation, with female patients more likely to attend ( p < 0.001), as well as younger patients ( p = 0.002); those residing outside the Jerusalem municipality ( p = 0.008); and patients whose primary language was Hebrew ( p < 0.001). Non-smokers and functionally independent patients were also more likely to attend ( p = 0.007 and 0.008, respectively), as were those diagnosed with breast/gynecological ( p = 0.005) or gastrointestinal tumors ( p = 0.002). Multivariate analysis showed a significantly greater likelihood of attending the consultation among females (OR 1.619, 95% CI 1.065–2.460; p = 0.024); younger patients (OR 1.019, 95% CI 1.007–1.031; p = 0.001); non-Arabic speakers (OR 8.220, 95% CI 3.310–20.413; p < 0.001); and patients diagnosed with a tumor other than lung cancer (OR 2.954, 95% CI 1.259–6.933; p = 0.013). Conclusion Further prospective research addressing socio-demographic, personal health- and cancer-related characteristics of oncology patients is needed to address potential barriers to the provision of IO care within a diverse, equitable and inclusive setting of care.