Feasibility And Acceptability Of A Reiki Therapy Intervention For Children Receiving Palliative Care
Background: Children are receptive to complementary therapies such as music, massage, and distraction for symptom management. Reiki therapy is ideal for children; particularly those receiving palliative care because it is a gentle, light touch therapy that promotes relaxation. This pre/post mixed-methods single group pilot study examined feasibility and acceptability of Reiki therapy for children receiving palliative care. Methods: A convenience sample of children (7 to16 years) together with a parent was recruited from a large palliative care service. Two 24-minute protocolized Reiki therapy sessions (12 hand positions for 2 minutes each) were administered at the child’s home by a single Reiki master. Recruitment, retention, and data collection rates were documented. Structured interviews were completed with parents and verbal children to elicit their experiences with the Reiki therapy sessions. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were conducted. Results: Twenty-one (87.5%) of the 24 child-parent dyads approached consented to the study. Sixteen dyads completed the study (eight with verbal and eight with non-verbal children). All 16 mothers (100%) stated they would participate in the study again and 100% of the verbal children liked the way the Reiki was done. Themes identified by both parents and children included Feeling Better (with subthemes Really Relaxed, Not Hurting That Bad, Calmed Me Down, Happier, and Heats Me Up), and Still Going On. Parents also identified Hard to Judge. Conclusions: The results of this pilot study demonstrate the feasibility and acceptability of Reiki therapy for children receiving palliative care. Parents and children were generally positive regarding the experience of receiving Reiki therapy. Verbal children reported they ‘felt really relaxed,’ and mothers stated, ‘it was a good experience’ and ’she was relaxed afterward.’ These results offer evidence that Reiki therapy may be a useful addition to traditional medical management of symptoms in children receiving palliative care.
Thrane SE; Danford CA; Maurer SH; Dianxu Ren; Cohen Susan M
Journal Of Pain And Symptom Management
2016
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2016.10.299" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2016.10.299</a>
Reiki Therapy For Symptom Management In Children Receiving Palliative Care: A Pilot Study
Anxiety; Pain; Palliative; Pediatric; Reiki; Symptom Management
BACKGROUND: Pain may be reported in one-half to three-fourths of children with cancer and other terminal conditions and anxiety in about one-third of them. Pharmacologic methods do not always give satisfactory symptom relief. Complementary therapies such as Reiki may help children manage symptoms. OBJECTIVE: This pre-post mixed-methods single group pilot study examined feasibility, acceptability, and the outcomes of pain, anxiety, and relaxation using Reiki therapy with children receiving palliative care. METHODS: A convenience sample of children ages 7 to 16 and their parents were recruited from a palliative care service. Two 24-minute Reiki sessions were completed at the children's home. Paired t tests or Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were calculated to compare change from pre to post for outcome variables. Significance was set at P < .10. Cohen d effect sizes were calculated. RESULTS: The final sample included 8 verbal and 8 nonverbal children, 16 mothers, and 1 nurse. All mean scores for outcome variables decreased from pre- to posttreatment for both sessions. Significant decreases for pain for treatment 1 in nonverbal children ( P = .063) and for respiratory rate for treatment 2 in verbal children ( P = .009). Cohen d effect sizes were medium to large for most outcome measures. DISCUSSION: Decreased mean scores for outcome measures indicate that Reiki therapy did decrease pain, anxiety, heart, and respiratory rates, but small sample size deterred statistical significance. This preliminary work suggests that complementary methods of treatment such as Reiki may be beneficial to support traditional methods to manage pain and anxiety in children receiving palliative care.
Thrane SE; Maurer SH; Dianxu Ren; Danford CA; Cohen Susan M
The American Journal Of Hospice & Palliative Care
2017
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
10.1177/1049909116630973