The Effect of Reiki on Pain, Anxiety and Haemodynamic Parameters in Patients Receiving Mechanical Ventilator Support

Summary

Patients receiving mechanical ventilation (MV) support in intensive care units (ICU) may have some negative experiences. The most common of these are problems such as pain, agitation, anxiety, deterioration in comfort, dry mouth, thirst, and inadequacy in communication.

Reiki, one of the energy therapies among the non-pharmacological nursing practices that have become widespread in recent years, is one of the healing therapies that contribute to the protection and promotion of well-being, healthy aging, and the treatment of some health deviations and is applied noninvasively with hands.

In the literature, there are many studies suggesting that Reiki has positive effects on pain, anxiety and stress response (heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate) in patients with Reiki. It is known that these studies generally consist of health professionals such as cancer, haemodialysis, patients undergoing laparoscopic or endoscopic procedures, haemodialysis patients or nurses. Studies have shown that Reiki is especially effective in cancer patients, preoperative stress, anxiety, postoperative pain and symptom management in chronic diseases. For Reiki application in the intensive care unit, only a few studies conducted in the neonatal intensive care unit were found.

Conditions

• İntensive Care
• Nursing
• Reiki

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Reiki

Reiki application was performed by a responsible researcher who has a Level 3 (Reiki Master) certificate. To prevent contamination between patients and to provide a suitable environment during the intervention, a curtain-screen system was used in the intensive care unit, and patients were fitted with earplugs to provide a quiet environment during the procedure. During the treatment (total time 30 minutes) the Reiki practitioner gently placed his/her hands on or above the patient's head and eyes, upper body from neck to pelvic area, arms and legs (standard Reiki hand positions). The application was limited and performed once due to the rapid changes in intubation time, intensive care unit stay and hemodynamic stability.

OTHER

(Sham Reiki)

n the placebo (sham Reiki) group, treatments were performed by sham practitioners (not involved in the study) who had no experience with energy work and did not believe in energy therapy. In order to ensure blinding during the sham application, the patients were given the same hand movements as the experimental group for the same duration. In order not to distract the patients during the application, the area was separated with a curtain and screen system and earplugs were used. The sham practitioner gently placed his hands on or above the patient's head and eyes, upper body from the neck to the pelvic area, arms and legs for 30 minutes. The application was simulated in a manner similar to standard Reiki hand positions.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Yalova

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Yasemin Karacan · University of Yalova

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-08-10

Primary Completion

2024-09-10

Completion

2024-10-30

Countries

• Turkey (Türkiye)

Study Locations