Feasibility and Acceptability of a Reiki Intervention With Very Young Children Receiving Palliative Care
pediatric; child; adolescent; palliative care; feasibility; Reiki; integrative; acceptability
BACKGROUND: Very little research has been reported examining nonpharmacologic symptom management strategies for very young, hospitalized children receiving palliative care, and none has involved Reiki-a light touch therapy. OBJECTIVES: To determine if completing a Reiki intervention with hospitalized 1- to 5-year-old children with chronic, life-limiting conditions receiving palliative care was feasible and acceptable. METHODS: Children ages 1 to 5 years receiving palliative care who were expected to be hospitalized for at least 3 weeks were recruited for a single-arm, mixed-methods, quasi-experimental pre/poststudy. Six protocolized Reiki sessions were conducted over 3 weeks. We calculated feasibility by the percentage of families enrolled in the study and acceptability by the percentage of families who completed all measures and 5 out of 6 Reiki sessions. Measures were collected at baseline, the end of the intervention period, and three weeks later. At the final follow-up visit, parents were verbally asked questions relating to the acceptability of the intervention in a short structured interview. RESULTS: We screened 90 families, approached 31 families, and recruited 16 families while 15 families declined. Reasons for not participating included that the child had "a lot going on," would be discharged soon, and families were overwhelmed. Of those enrolled, most completed all measures at three time points and 5 out of 6 Reiki sessions. We completed nearly all scheduled Reiki sessions for families that finished the study. All parents reported that they would continue the Reiki if they could, and almost all said they would participate in the study again; only one parent was unsure. DISCUSSION: Young children and their parents found Reiki acceptable; these results are comparable to an earlier study of children 7-16 years receiving palliative care at home and a study of massage for symptom management for hospitalized children with cancer. These findings add to the literature and support further investigation of Reiki's efficacy as a nonpharmacologic symptom management intervention.
Thrane SE; Grossoehme DH; Tan A; Shaner V; Friebert S
Nursing Research
2021
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://doi.org/10.1097/nnr.0000000000000540" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1097/nnr.0000000000000540</a>
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>
Feasibility and Acceptability of Reiki Therapy for Children Receiving Palliative Care in the Home
acceptability; adolescent; child; feasibility; integrative; palliative care; pediatric; Reiki
Reiki is often used but not well studied in children. Yet, this gentle, light-touch therapy promotes relaxation and is appropriate for those receiving palliative care. This quasi-experimental pre-post mixed-methods 1-group pilot study examined the feasibility and acceptability of Reiki therapy as a treatment for children aged 7 to 16 years receiving palliative care. During the study, we recorded recruitment, retention, data collection rates, and percent completion of the intervention. Structured interviews with the mothers and verbal children were conducted to elicit their experience. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Twenty-one parent-child dyads agreed to participate and signed consent, whereas 16 completed the study (including verbal [n = 8] and nonverbal [n = 8] children). Themes included "feeling better," "hard to judge," and "still going on." Mothers and children were generally positive regarding the experience of receiving Reiki therapy. Children reported they "felt really relaxed," and mothers stated, "It was a good experience" and "She was relaxed afterward." The results of this pilot study show that Reiki was feasible, acceptable, and well-tolerated. Most participants reported it was helpful. Reiki therapy may be a useful adjunct with traditional medical management for symptoms in children receiving palliative care.
Thrane SE; Maurer SH; Danford CA
Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing
2020
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://doi.org/10.1097/njh.0000000000000714" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1097/njh.0000000000000714</a>
Pediatric Palliative Care: A Five-Year Retrospective Chart Review Study
Child; Life Limiting; Life Threatening; Palliative Care; Patient Survival; Pediatric
BACKGROUND: More children are living with serious illness. However, survival and complexity of illnesses have not been described. OBJECTIVE: To describe types of illnesses, timing of referral, and time to death following referral to palliative care; to examine the associations between demographics and clinical characteristics and patient survival; and to examine whether average daily pain decreases after referral. DESIGN: Retrospective chart review of all children ages 2-16 years referred to palliative care at one large children's hospital during the five-year study period from January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2013. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome was patient survival and the main independent predictor was type of illness. Kaplan-Meier estimation was used to estimate patient survival time following referral, Cox proportional hazards regression was used to build predictive models based on gender, age, race, religion, and types of illnesses, and paired t-test compared the assessment of pain before and after referral. RESULTS: The cohort consisted of 256 children. Survival experience did not differ significantly based on gender, age, race, or religion (p ≥ 0.05); however, survival did vary based on referring diagnosis (χ2 = 40.3, df = 4, p < 0.001), particularly cancer. Forty-eight children with three days of pain assessments pre- and postreferral had significantly decreased pain postreferral (t(47) = 1.816, p < 0.05 one tailed), supporting our hypothesis. DISCUSSION: Results provide important information on the complexity of disease processes for children referred to palliative care, types of illnesses referred, survival, and pain levels. Results reflect earlier referral to palliative care for most children and highlight the medical complexity especially for children with congenital and genetic diagnoses.
Thrane SE; Maurer SH; Cohen SM; May C; Sereika SM
Journal Of Palliative Medicine
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).
<a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2017.0038" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">10.1089/jpm.2017.0038</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
Reiki Therapy for Very Young Hospitalized Children Receiving Palliative Care
Children; Hospitalization; Palliative care; Reiki
Background: Approximately half of children receiving palliative care are under age five; however, there are a few studies exploring palliative care interventions for this population. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of Reiki on pain, stress, heart, and respiratory rates, oxygenation, and quality of life (QoL) in hospitalized young children receiving palliative care services.
Thrane SE; Williams E; Grossoehme DH; Friebert S
Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nursing
2022
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://doi.org/10.1177/27527530211059435" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1177/27527530211059435</a>