Home-Based Reiki by Informal Caregivers: A Mixed-Methods Pilot Study

Area of Science:

• Complementary and Alternative Medicine
• Oncology Nursing
• Patient Support

Background:

• Cancer patients often experience significant symptom burden and reduced quality of life.
• Family caregivers play a crucial role in patient care, facing their own challenges.
• Exploring accessible, patient-centered supportive care modalities is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility and acceptability of home-based Reiki delivered by family caregivers to cancer patients.
• To explore the impact of this intervention on cancer-related symptoms and health-related outcomes.
• To identify perceived benefits and barriers associated with at-home Reiki practice.

Main Methods:

• Pilot study employing an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design.
• Six patient-caregiver dyads participated in a 3-week daily at-home Reiki intervention.
• Data collected via pre-/post-Reiki questionnaires and post-Reiki interviews.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements observed in fatigue, memory, mood, nausea, and emotional well-being (P < .10, r = 0.51-0.59).
• High participant satisfaction (100%) and willingness to recommend (83.3%) home-based Reiki.
• Qualitative data indicated that perceived benefits of Reiki generally outweighed barriers.

Conclusions:

• At-home Reiki delivered by family caregivers is a feasible and acceptable intervention for cancer patients.
• The protocol demonstrated potential benefits for improving cancer-related outcomes.
• Further research with larger sample sizes is warranted to confirm effectiveness in patient-centered cancer care.