International Hypnosis Research Institute - Reiki/Therapeutic Touch

Using a mixed methods research design to investigate complementary alternative medicine (CAM)...

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 16:44:00 -0500

Full title: Using a mixed methods research design to investigate complementary alternative medicine (CAM) use among women with breast cancer in Ireland. Eur J Oncol Nurs. 2012 Nov 20. pii: S1462-3889(12)00102-0. doi: 10.1016/j.ejon.2012.10.008. Fox P, Butler M, Coughlan B, Murray M, Boland N, Hanan T, Murphy H, Forrester P, O' Brien M, O' Sullivan N. UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery & Health Systems, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland. Electronic address: patricia.fox@ucd.ie. AIM: To investigate complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among women with breast cancer in Ireland using a mixed methods modified sequential explanatory design. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with oncology professionals (n = 20) and CAM practitioners (n = 20) and this was followed by a survey of 406 women with breast cancer using the 'Use of Complementary and Alternative Therapies Survey' questionnaire (UCATS) (Lengacher et al., 2003). Follow up interviews were subsequently undertaken with a subset of this survey sample (n = 31). RESULTS: Over half of those surveyed (55.7%, n = 226) used some form of CAM since diagnosis. The most frequently used therapies were massage, herbal supplements (including herbs with oestrogenic properties), antioxidants, relaxation, counselling, health supplements, reflexology, reiki and support groups. Dietary interventions were used primarily to reduce symptoms and/or side effects while reduction of psychological stress was the primary reason for use of stress-reducing therapies. Most respondents reported that the CAM therapies they had used were helpful. The qualitative data elaborated on and provided clarification of the survey results. CONCLUSIONS: Similar to international studies, CAM is popular among women with breast cancer in Ireland. As such, the challenge for Irish oncology professionals is to identify low risk CAM therapies that are likely to benefit patients while educating patients and themselves on therapies which may be of concern. This study clearly illustrates the benefits of using a mixed methods approach to enhance our understanding of a complex clinical issue and thus we recommend that this method should be the method of choice when planning health services research. Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2012 Dec 5. Marcus DA, Blazek-O'Neill B, Kopar JL.

Therapeutic touch for healing acute wounds.

Sun, 23 Dec 2012 18:12:00 -0500

Therapeutic Touch (TT) is an alternative therapy that has gained popularity over the past two decades for helping wounds to heal. Practitioners enter a meditative state and pass their hands above the patient's body to find and correct any imbalances in the patient's 'life energy' or chi. Scientific instruments have been unable to detect this energy. The effect of TT on wound healing has been expounded in anecdotal publications. To identify and review all relevant data to determine the effects of TT on healing acute wounds. For this fourth update, we searched The Cochrane Wounds Group Specialised Register (searched 27 January 2012); The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2012, Issue 1); Ovid MEDLINE (2010 to January Week 2 2012); Ovid MEDLINE (In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, January 26, 2012); Ovid EMBASE (2010 to 2012 Week 03); and EBSCO CINAHL (2010 to January 6 2012). All randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials, which compared the effect of TT with a placebo, another treatment, or no treatment control were considered. Studies which used TT as a stand-alone treatment, or as an adjunct to other therapies, were eligible. One author (DO'M) determined the eligibility for inclusion of all trials in the review. Both authors conducted data extraction and evaluation of trial validity independently. Each trial was assessed using predetermined criteria. No new trials were identified for this update. Four trials in people with experimental wounds were included. The effect of TT on wound healing in these studies was variable. Two trials (n = 44 & 24) demonstrated a significant increase in healing associated with TT, while one trial found significantly worse healing after TT and the other found no significant difference. All trials are at high risk of bias. There is no robust evidence that TT promotes healing of acute wounds. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012 Jun 13;6:CD002766. O'Mathúna DP, Ashford RL. School of Nursing & Human Sciences, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland. donal.omathuna@dcu.ie

Effect of therapeutic touch on brain activation of preterm infants...

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 18:11:00 -0500

Full title: Effect of therapeutic touch on brain activation of preterm infants in response to sensory punctate stimulus: a near-infrared spectroscopy-based study. The purpose of this study was to determine whether therapeutic touch in preterm infants can ameliorate their sensory punctate stimulus response in terms of brain activation measured by near-infrared spectroscopy. The study included 10 preterm infants at 34-40 weeks' corrected age. Oxyhaemoglobin (Oxy-Hb) concentration, heart rate (HR), arterial oxygen saturation (SaO(2)) and body movements were recorded during low-intensity sensory punctate stimulation for 1 s with and without therapeutic touch by a neonatal development specialist nurse. Each stimulation was followed by a resting phase of 30 s. All measurements were performed with the infants asleep in the prone position. sensory punctate stimulus exposure significantly increased the oxy-Hb concentration but did not affect HR, SaO(2) and body movements. The infants receiving therapeutic touch had significantly decreased oxy-Hb concentrations over time. Therapeutic touch in preterm infants can ameliorate their sensory punctate stimulus response in terms of brain activation, indicated by increased cerebral oxygenation. Therefore, therapeutic touch may have a protective effect on the autoregulation of cerebral blood flow during sensory punctate stimulus in neonates. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2012 Jul 21. Honda N, Ohgi S, Wada N, Loo KK, Higashimoto Y, Fukuda K. 1Department of Rehabilitation, Kinki University Faculty of Medicine, Osakasayama, Osaka, Japan.

Effects of Therapeutic Touch on Anxiety, Vital Signs, and Cardiac Dysrhythmia...

Sun, 21 Oct 2012 18:10:00 -0500

Full title: Effects of Therapeutic Touch on Anxiety, Vital Signs, and Cardiac Dysrhythmia in a Sample of Iranian Women Undergoing Cardiac Catheterization: A Quasi-Experimental Study. Purpose of the study: To investigate the effects of Therapeutic Touch (TT) on anxiety, vital signs, and cardiac dysrhythmia in women undergoing cardiac catheterization. Design: It was a quasi-experimental study. The participants had no history of hallucination, anxiety, or other psychological problems. Participants had to be conscious and have attained at least sixth-grade literacy level. Participants were randomly assigned into an intervention group (n = 23; received 10-15 minutes TT), a placebo group (n = 23; received 10-15 minutes simulated touch), and a control group (n = 23; did not receive any therapy). Data were collected using Spielberger's anxiety test, cardiac dysrhythmia checklist, and vital signs recording sheet. Statistical analyses were considered to be significant at a = .05 levels. Findings: Sixty-nine women ranging in age from 35 to 65 years participated. TT significantly decreased state anxiety p < 0.0001 but not trait anxiety (p = .88), decreased the incidence of all cardiac dysrhythmias p < 0.0001 except premature ventricular contraction (p = .01), and regulated vital signs p < 0.0001 in the intervention group versus placebo and control group. Conclusions: TT is an effective approach for managing state anxiety, regulating vital signs, and decreasing the incidence of cardiac dysrhythmia during stressful situations, such as cardiac catheterization, in Iranian cardiac patients. J Holist Nurs. 2012 Jul 24. Zolfaghari M, Eybpoosh S, Hazrati M.

The implementation and evaluation of therapeutic touch in burn patients...

Sun, 14 Oct 2012 18:09:00 -0500

Full title: The implementation and evaluation of therapeutic touch in burn patients: An instructive experience of conducting a scientific study within a non-academic nursing setting. Evaluation of therapeutic touch (TT) in the nursing of burn patients; post hoc evaluation of the research process in a non-academic nursing setting. 38 burn patients received either TT or nursing presence. On admission, days 2, 5 and 10 of hospitalization, data were collected on anxiety for pain, salivary cortisol, and pain medication. Interviews with nurses were held concerning research in a non-academic setting. Anxiety for pain was more reduced on day 10 in the TT-group. The TT-group was prescribed less morphine on day 1 and 2. On day 2 cortisol level before dressing changes was higher in the TT-group. The situational challenges of this study led to inconsistencies in data collection and a high patient attrition rate, weakening its statistical power. Conducting an effect study within daily nursing practice should not be done with a nursing staff inexperienced in research. Analysis of the remaining data justifies further research on TT for burn patients with pain, anxiety for pain, and cortisol levels as outcomes. Administering and evaluating TT during daily care requires nurses experienced both in TT and research, thus leading to less attrition and missing data, increasing the power of future studies. Patient Educ Couns. 2012 Sep 17. pii: S0738-3991(12)00340-0. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2012.08.012. Busch M, Visser A, Eybrechts M, van Komen R, Oen I, Olff M, Dokter J, Boxma H. Van Praag Instituut, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: mbusch@vanpraaginstituut.nl.

Reiki therapy: a nursing intervention for critical care.

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:42:00 -0500

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is not generally associated with the complexity and intensity of critical care. Most CAM therapies involve slow, calming techniques that seem to be in direct contrast with the fast-paced, highly technical nature of critical care. However, patients in critical care often find themselves coping with the pain and stress of their illness exacerbated by the stress of the critical care environment. Complementary and alternative medicine-related research reveals that complementary therapies, such as Reiki, relieve pain and anxiety and reduce symptoms of stress such as elevated blood pressure and pulse rates. Patients and health care professionals alike have become increasingly interested in complementary and alternative therapies that do not rely on expensive, invasive technology, and are holistic in focus. Reiki is cost-effective, noninvasive, and can easily be incorporated into patient care. The purpose of this article is to examine the science of Reiki therapy and to explore Reiki as a valuable nursing intervention. Crit Care Nurs Q. 2011 Jul-Sep;34(3):213-7. Toms R. Nelda C. Stark College of Nursing, Texas Woman's University, Houston, TX 77030, USA. rtoms@twu.edu

Touching ethics: assessing the applicability of ethical rules for safe touch in CAM...

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 16:05:00 -0500

Full title: Touching ethics: assessing the applicability of ethical rules for safe touch in CAM--outcomes of a CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) practitioner survey in Israel. INTRODUCTION: Recently, ethical guidelines regarding safe touch in CAM were developed in Israel. Publishing ethical codes does not imply that they will actually help practitioners to meet ethical care standards. The effectiveness of ethical rules depends on familiarity with the code and its content. In addition, critical self-examination of the code by individual members of the profession is required to reflect on the moral commitments encompassed in the code. METHODS: For the purpose of dynamic self-appraisal, we devised a survey to assess how CAM practitioners view the suggested ethical guidelines for safe touch. We surveyed 781 CAM practitioners regarding their perspectives on the safe-touch code. RESULTS: There was a high level of agreement with general statements regarding ethics pertaining to safe touch with a mean rate of agreement of 4.61 out of a maximum of 5. Practitioners concurred substantially with practice guidelines for appropriate touch with a mean rate of agreement of 4.16 out of a maximum of 5. Attitudes toward the necessity to touch intimate areas for treatment purposes varied with 78.6% of respondents strongly disagreeing with any notion of need to touch intimate areas during treatment. 7.9% neither disagreed nor agreed, 7.9% slightly agreed, and 7.6% strongly agreed with the need for touching intimate areas during treatment. There was a direct correlation between disagreement with touching intimate areas for therapeutic purposes and agreement with general statements regarding ethics of safe touch (Spearman r=0.177, p<0.0001), and practice guidelines for appropriate touch (r=0.092, p=0.012). CONCLUSION: A substantial number of practitioners agreed with the code, although some findings regarding the need to touch intimate area during treatments were disturbing. Our findings can serve as a basis for ethical code development and implementation, as well as for educating CAM practitioners on the ethics of touch. Complement Ther Med. 2011 Feb;19(1):12-8. Epub 2010 Dec 24. Schiff E, Ben-Arye E, Shilo M, Levy M, Schachter L, Weitchner N, Golan O, Stone J. Department of Internal Medicine, Bnai-Zion Hospital, Haifa, Israel. eschiff@bezeqint.net

The importance of a holistic approach during the perioperative period.

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 16:04:00 -0500

Holism is the philosophy of understanding people by addressing factors that affect people in all situations. The goal of holistic nursing is to help patients integrate appropriate self-care into their lives. By providing holistic care, the perioperative nurse can help surgical patients experience fewer problems (eg, surgical trauma, pain, anesthetic complications), reach discharge more quickly, attain satisfaction with health care, and more easily resume normal activities. Holistic nursing may include the use of music, guided imagery, therapeutic massage, play therapy, touch therapy, and communication skills. Successful surgery for the patient means not only recovering but regaining physical, mental, and spiritual health as a whole. AORN J. 2011 Apr;93(4):482-7; quiz 488-90. Selimen D, Andsoy II. Surgical Nursing Department, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey.

From SOLER to SURETY for effective non-verbal communication.

Sat, 06 Aug 2011 16:01:00 -0500

BACKGROUND: This paper critiques the model for non-verbal communication referred to as SOLER (which stands for: "Sit squarely"; "Open posture"; "Lean towards the other"; "Eye contact; "Relax"). It has been approximately thirty years since Egan (1975) introduced his acronym SOLER as an aid for teaching and learning about non-verbal communication. AIM: There is evidence that the SOLER framework has been widely used in nurse education with little published critical appraisal. A new acronym that might be appropriate for non-verbal communication skills training and education is proposed and this is SURETY (which stands for "Sit at an angle"; "Uncross legs and arms"; "Relax"; "Eye contact"; "Touch"; "Your intuition"). THE NEW MODEL: The proposed model advances the SOLER model by including the use of touch and the importance of individual intuition is emphasised. The model encourages student nurse educators to also think about therapeutic space when they teach skills of non-verbal communication. Nurse Educ Pract. 2011 Apr 12. Stickley T. School of Nursing, Midwifery and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, Duncan MacMillan House, Porchester Road, Nottingham NG3 6AA, United Kingdom.

Nurses' experiences, expectations, and preferences for mind-body practices to reduce stress.

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 16:03:00 -0500

ABSTRACT:BACKGROUND: Most research on the impact of mind-body training does not ask about participants' baseline experience, expectations, or preferences for training. To better plan participant-centered mind-body intervention trials for nurses to reduce occupational stress, such descriptive information would be valuable. METHODS: We conducted an anonymous email survey between April and June, 2010 of North American nurses interested in mind-body training to reduce stress. The e-survey included: demographic characteristics, health conditions and stress levels; experiences with mind-body practices; expected health benefits; training preferences; and willingness to participate in future randomized controlled trials. RESULTS: Of the 342 respondents, 96% were women and 92% were Caucasian. Most (73%) reported one or more health conditions, notably anxiety (49%); back pain (41%); GI problems such as irritable bowel syndrome (34%); or depression (33%). Their median occupational stress level was 4 (0 = none; 5 = extreme stress). Nearly all (99%) reported already using one or more mind-body practices to reduce stress: intercessory prayer (86%), breath-focused meditation (49%), healing or therapeutic touch (39%), yoga/tai chi/qi gong (34%), or mindfulness-based meditation (18%). The greatest expected benefits were for greater spiritual well-being (56%); serenity, calm, or inner peace (54%); better mood (51%); more compassion (50%); or better sleep (42%). Most (65%) wanted additional training; convenience (74% essential or very important), was more important than the program's reputation (49%) or scientific evidence about effectiveness (32%) in program selection. Most (65%) were willing to participate in a randomized trial of mind-body training; among these, most were willing to collect salivary cortisol (60%), or serum biomarkers (53%) to assess the impact of training. CONCLUSIONS: Most nurses interested in mind-body training already engage in such practices. They have greater expectations about spiritual and emotional than physical benefits, but are willing to participate in studies and to collect biomarker data. Recruitment may depend more on convenience than a program's scientific basis or reputation. Knowledge of participants' baseline experiences, expectations, and preferences helps inform future training and research on mind-body approaches to reduce stress. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2011 Apr 11;11:26. Kemper K, Bulla S, Krueger D, Ott MJ, McCool JA, Gardiner P. Center for Integrative Medicine, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center; Winston-Salem, NC, USA. kkemper@wfubmc.edu.

Holistic approach to treatment of intractable central neuropathic itch.

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 15:59:00 -0500

Central neuropathic itch can be a lifelong debilitating condition and treatment challenge. We report a patient with a traumatic brain injury with severe intractable pruritus who failed extensive pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatment but responded to a holistic approach using healing touch. We discuss the complexity of this type of neuropathic itch and present a holistic approach as an adjunct to therapy in reducing itch intensity. This case presentation along with the literature discussed suggests a therapeutic strategy for the management of complicated central neuropathic itch. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2011 May;64(5):955-9. Epub 2011 Feb 3. Curtis AR, Tegeler C, Burdette J, Yosipovitch G. Department of Dermatology, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157, USA. acurtis@wfubmc.edu

Translating cognition from animals to humans.

Sat, 23 Jul 2011 15:59:00 -0500

Many clinical disorders, whether neurological (e.g. Alzheimer's disease) or neuropsychiatric (e.g. schizophrenia and depression), exhibit cognitive symptoms that require pharmacological treatment. Cognition is multi-faceted and includes processes of perception, attention, working memory, long-term memory, executive function, language and social cognition. This article reviews how it is feasible to model many aspects of human cognition with the use of appropriate animal models and associated techniques, including the use of computer controlled tests (e.g. touch-screens), for optimising translation of experimental research to the clinic. When investigating clinical disorders, test batteries should aim to profile cognitive function in order to determine which aspects are impaired and which are preserved. In this review we have paid particular attention to the validation of translational methods; this may be done through the application of common theoretical principles, by comparing the effects of psychological manipulations and, wherever feasible, with the demonstration of homologous neural circuitry or equivalent pharmacological actions in the animal and human paradigms. Of particular importance is the use of 'back-translation' to ensure that the animal model has validity, for example, in predicting the effects of therapeutic drugs already found in human studies. It is made clear that the choice of appropriate behavioral tests is an important element of animal models of neuropsychiatric or neurological disorder; however, of course it is also important to select appropriate manipulations, whether genetic, neurodevelopmental, neurotoxic, or pharmacological, for simulating the neural substrates relevant to the disorders that lead to predictable behavioral and cognitive impairments, for optimising the testing of candidate compounds. Biochem Pharmacol. 2011 Jun 15;81(12):1356-66. Epub 2011 Jan 8. Keeler JF, Robbins TW. Dept. of Expt. Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK; Dept. of Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK.

Patients' direct experiences as central elements of placebo analgesia.

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 15:58:00 -0500

Placebo analgesic effects appear to be related to patients' perception of the therapeutic intervention. In this paper, we review quantitative findings of how the relationship with the physician and the verbal suggestions given for relief may influence patients' perception of a treatment and how patients' expectations and emotional feelings may affect treatment outcome. We also present qualitative data from interviews with patients who have experienced pain relief following a placebo or an active treatment. A special focus is given to the temporal development of placebo analgesia at psychological and neurophysiological levels. Finally, we discuss the extent to which the quantitative and qualitative findings supplement or contrast with each other, and we touch upon possible implications of patients' direct experience as central for placebo analgesia. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2011 Jun 27;366(1572):1913-21. Vase L, Nørskov KN, Petersen GL, Price DD. Department of Psychology, Aarhus University, , Jens Christian Skous Vej 4, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.

Energy healing and pain: a review of the literature.

Sun, 19 Dec 2010 10:05:00 -0500

This article includes a review of the literature on research related to energy healing and pain from 1980 through 2008. The types of energy healing considered include Reiki, therapeutic touch, and healing touch. There has been limited research testing these holistic interventions and their effect on pain even though there is attention to the modalities in the nursing practice literature. Recommendations for future research include studies with larger and diverse samples and comparisons among the various modalities. Fazzino DL, Griffin MT, McNulty RS, Fitzpatrick JJ. Holist Nurs Pract. 2010 Mar-Apr;24(2):79-88. Prepare Me 4 Surgery, Encinitas, California, USA.

Human relationships: an exploration of loneliness and touch.

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 10:03:00 -0500

The aim of this article is to provide a cursory review of some of the literature relating to loneliness, existentialism and touch. With reference to the critical incident analysis (see Box 1), a reflection on the learning that has been achieved both intrapersonally and interpersonally will also be provided. A consideration of how exactly this experience of structured reflection may be used to enhance and develop practice will also be explored. The review will analyze the key concepts of loneliness, existentialism, the therapeutic relationship and touch within the realms of nursing practice, specifically in relation to death and dying. This article seeks to highlight the importance of having an understanding of loneliness in nursing, particularly when caring for patients who are dying. Playfair C. Br J Nurs. 2010 Jan 28-Feb 10;19(2):122, 124-6. The Royal Sussex County Hospital, East Sussex.