Hand Massage for Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy as Outpatients: A Pilot Study

Susanne M. Cutshall, Saswati Mahapatra, Rebecca S. Hynes, Kimberly M. Van Rooy, Sherry A. Looker, Aditya Ghosh, Cathy D. Schleck, Brent A. Bauer, Dietlind L. Wahner-Roedler

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Context There are no studies on the effect of volunteer-provided hand massage in a busy chemotherapy outpatient practice. Objective To assess the feasibility of introducing hand massage therapy into an outpatient chemotherapy unit and to evaluate the effect of the therapy on various symptoms experienced by cancer patients. Design A pilot, quasi-experimental, pretest–posttest study. Setting Chemotherapy outpatient clinic of a large tertiary care academic medical center. Patients/Participants Forty chemotherapy outpatients. Intervention After being approached by a trained volunteer from a hand massage team, patients consented to receive a 20-minute hand massage before chemotherapy that was individualized according to patient preference and expressed needs. Main Outcome Measures The visual analog scale (VAS) was used to measure pain, fatigue, anxiety, muscular discomfort, nervousness, stress, happiness, energy, relaxation, calmness, and emotional well-being (on a scale from 0–10) before and after the intervention; a satisfaction survey was administered after the therapy. Patients’ demographic data were summarized with descriptive statistics, and VAS total scores were compared between groups at each time point with the two-group t test. Feasibility was evaluated from the number of patients who were approached, received a hand massage, and completed the study surveys. Results Of the 40 participants, 19 were men (mean age, 59.5 years). Significant improvement after hand massage was indicated by VAS scores for fatigue, anxiety, muscular discomfort, nervousness, stress, happiness, energy, relaxation, calmness, and emotional well-being (P <.05). Pain scores also improved, but the difference was not statistically significant (P =.06). All patients indicated that they would recommend hand massage to other patients, and 37 were interested in receiving it during their next chemotherapy treatment.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)393-399
Number of pages7
JournalExplore
Volume13
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2017

Keywords

  • Cancer
  • Chemotherapy
  • Hand massage
  • Volunteers

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Analysis
  • General Nursing
  • Chiropractics
  • Complementary and alternative medicine

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