Reiki Therapy for Symptom Management in Children Receiving Palliative Care: A Pilot Study

The use of complementary and alternative therapies is growing year after year, and Reiki therapy takes a place of choice. Reiki therapy, classed as a biofield energy therapy, raises the question of validity when applied to patients, especially in palliative care. The purpose of this review is to highlight the effects of Reiki therapy on pain, anxiety/depression and quality of life of patients, specifically in palliative care. The current article indicates that Reiki therapy is useful for relieving pain, decreasing anxiety/depression and improving quality of life in several conditions. Due to the small number of studies in palliative care, we were unable to clearly identify the benefits of Reiki therapy, but preliminary results tend to show some positive effects of Reiki therapy for the end-of-life population. These results should encourage teams working in palliative care to conduct more studies to determine the benefits of Reiki therapy on pain, anxiety/depression and quality of life in palliative care.

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“…Only a few studies have investigated the use of Reiki therapy in palliative care 22 39–41. These studies are summarised in table 1.…”

Section: Reiki and Palliative Carementioning

confidence: 99%

Reiki therapy for pain, anxiety and quality of life

Billot

Daycard²,

Wood

et al. 2019

BMJ Support Palliat Care

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“…A decrease in heart rate during the Reiki session may be reflective of a relaxation response, described in a study of adults receiving Reiki for withdrawal. 41 The decrease in heart rate in our study was statistically significant, and may also be clinically significant, as a decrease from 138 to 130 bpm may be therapeutic and beneficial among newborns experiencing NAS symptoms. It is possible that the decrease in heart rate seen among newborns in our study was due to other factors such as removing the infant from the distractions in the nursery and into a quiet room.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 48%

“…Thrane et al 41 examined the feasibility, acceptability, and outcomes of pain, anxiety, and relaxation using Reiki therapy with children receiving palliative care. Statistics included paired t tests or Wilcoxon signed rank tests to compare changes in these parameters after providing two 20-minute Reiki sessions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Safety of Reiki Therapy for Newborns at Risk for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome

Radziewicz

Wright-Esber

Zupancic

et al. 2018

Holistic Nursing Practice

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The incidence of opioid abuse and subsequent drug withdrawal is exponentially on the rise in the United States for many populations including newborns who are born to drug-addicted mothers. These newborns often exhibit symptoms of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) within 24 to 72 hours of birth. Treatment of NAS includes monitoring of withdrawal symptoms, managing physiological parameters, and the use of supportive and pharmacologic treatments. Although a few randomized controlled trials exist, studies on supportive intervention are generally limited by small sample sizes, case study reports, expert opinions, and descriptive design. Few studies address the safety of Reiki for newborns at risk for NAS using neonatal parameters. This pilot study addresses feasibility and demonstrates that Reiki is safe when administered to this high-risk population. Considerations for future studies are discussed.

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“…The gold standard of care is to use self‐report pain scales (WHO, ). The most common self‐reported scales for the pediatric population are the Wong‐Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale (3 years and older), NRS (8 years and older), and visual analog scale (VAS; 7 years and older) (Anghelescu, Faughnan, Baker, Yang, & Kane, ; Anghelescu, Hamilton, Faughnan, Johnson, & Baker, ; Geeta et al., ; Hechler et al., ; Thrane, Maurer, Ren, Danford, & Cohen, ; Yoshino et al., ). However, many assessor‐driven scales, designed to evaluate pain in the pediatric population as self‐reported scales, are frequently not an option due to age or patient acuity (WHO, ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%