The clinical use of Kampo medicines (traditional Japanese herbal treatments) for controlling cancer patients’ symptoms in Japan: a national cross-sectional survey

Table 1 Respondents’ background characteristics

Respondents (n = 311)			Average ± SD	Minimum value	Maximum value
Age			49 ± 8	28	75
Years of experience			23 ± 8	4	50
			Responses	%
Institution (n = 549) *
Core cancer treatment hospital (n = 388)			226	58.2
Palliative Care Unit in medical institution (n = 161)			79	49.1
			n	%
Age group
20–29 years			1	0.3
30–39 years			39	12.8
40–49 years			119	39.1
50–59 years			118	38.8
≥ 60 years			27	8.9
Sex
Male			273	90.1
Female			30	9.9
Palliative Care Specialists certified by JSPM**
Specialists (including provisional medical advisors)			128	41.2
Non-specialists			183	58.8
Region***	Hokkaido–Tohoku	Kanto	Chubu	Kinki	Chugoku	Shikoku	Kyushu–Okinawa
Number of questionnaires distributed	79	116	92	91	47	27	97
Number of responses	26	43	41	33	25	11	37
Response rate (%)	32.9	37.1	44.6	36.3	53.2	40.7	38.1

*Six responses had missing institution data, and ***95 responses had missing region data.
** JSPM: Japan Society for Palliative Medicine.

ISSN: 2662-7671