Effect of Reiki on Surgical Fear and Anxiety in Cholecystectomy Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of Reiki on surgical fear and anxiety in laparoscopic cholecystectomy patients. Study design: This study is a three-arm, parallel, randomized, controlled trial. Methods: Forty-eight patients who underwent elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the General Surgery Clinic of a university hospital between November 2022 and December 2023 were included in the study. Patients were assigned to Reiki, Sham Reiki, and control groups according to the group they were assigned to. Surgical Fear Questionnaire and Surgical Anxiety Questionnaire were measured to the patients before and after the procedure according to the group they were assigned to. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, and ANOVA were used to analyze the data. Results: A statistically significant relationship was found between the surgical fear and anxiety scores of the patients in the Reiki group both within themselves and when compared with the other groups, and they were found to be lower (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Reiki application was effective in reducing preoperative surgical fear and anxiety scores of patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of Reiki, an easy-to-apply complementary therapy application, in reducing surgical fear and anxiety.