Experiences of aromatherapy massage among adult female cancer patients: A qualitative study

Background: Providing patients with comfort is the basis of nursing care and a favorable outcome of nursing care measures. Comfort is of special importance to hemodialysis patients because they spend a large part of their lives in hemodialysis units and are constantly dealing with different physical and mental health problems. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of comfort-based interventions (back massage along with patient and family education) on the level of comfort among hemodialysis patients. Methods: As a randomized controlled trial, this study was undertaken in 2016 in the hemodialysis unit of Shahid Chamran hospital, Ferdows, Iran. A convenience sample of forty hemodialysis patients was recruited. Patients were alternately allocated to control or intervention groups based on their hemodialysis days. The hospice comfort questionnaire was completed for all participants at the beginning and at the end of the study. This questionnaire showed that the comfort needs of patients were related to muscle cramps, headache, back pain, nausea, lack of knowledge about arteriovenous fistula care, dietary and treatment regimens, itching, rest and sleep disorders, and impaired comfort. Patients in the intervention group received massage as well as patient and family education in six consecutive hemodialysis sessions, while their counterparts in the control group solely received the routine care services of the study setting. The SPSS software (v. 18.0) was used for data analysis through running the paired-and the independent-sample t tests. The significance level was set at less than 0.05. Results: The mean scores of comfort and its environmental and psychospiritual dimensions significantly increased in the intervention group (P < 0.001). Significant increases were also observed in the mean scores of comfort and its psychospiritual dimension in the control group (P < 0.05). Before the intervention, there were no significant differences between the groups respecting the mean values of comfort and its dimensions (P > 0.05). However, after the intervention, there were significant between-group differences in the mean scores of comfort and its environmental dimension as well as in the pretest-posttest mean difference for the environmental dimension of comfort.

Objective: to synthesize the knowledge and to critically evaluate the evidences arising from randomized controlled trials on the efficacy of the complementary therapies in the management of cancer pain in adult patients with cancer in palliative care. Method: a systematic review guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. The search for articles in the MEDLINE, ISI Web of Knowledge, CENTRAL Cochrane, and PsycINFO databases, as well as the manual search, selection of studies, data extraction, and methodological assessment using the Cochrane Bias Risk tool were performed independently by two reviewers. Results: eight hundred and fifteen (815) studies were identified, six of them being selected and analyzed, of which three used massage therapy, one study used a combination of progressive muscle relaxation and guided imaging, and another two studies used acupuncture. Most of the studies had an uncertain risk of bias (n=4; 67%). Conclusion: while the evidence from the studies evaluating the use of massage therapy or the use of progressive muscle relaxation and guided imaging for the management of cancer pain in these patients demonstrated significant benefits, the other two studies that evaluated the use of acupuncture as a complementary therapy showed contradictory results, therefore, needing more research studies to elucidate such findings.

Objetivo: avaliar as evidências disponíveis na literatura sobre a atuação do enfermeiro na reabilitação do paciente oncológico. Método: trata-se de uma revisão integrativa seguindo as seguintes etapas: identificação do problema, busca na literatura, extração de dados dos estudos primários, avaliação dos estudos primários e apresentação da revisão integrativa. A busca dos estudos primários foi realizada nas bases de dados CINAHL, LILACS e PubMed publicados no período de 30 de junho de 2008 a 30 de junho de 2018. Resultados: a amostra foi composta de 32 estudos primários, agrupados em três categorias: (1) ações interacionais (n=8); (2) ações educacionais (n=10); e (3) ações assistenciais (n=14) do enfermeiro na reabilitação oncológica. Na categoria 1, os principais temas investigados foram comunicação, apoio espiritual e psicológico. Na categoria 2, apurou-se orientações prestadas ao paciente e elaboração de estratégias de ensino. Já na categoria 3, atenção domiciliar, processo de enfermagem, procedimentos técnicos e práticas alternativas foram os principais temas abordados. Constatouse que o enfermeiro inserido na reabilitação oncológica deve utilizar do diálogo e da escuta como recursos para atingir suas ações interacionais, e que suas habilidades permitem um relacionamento paciente-enfermeiro eficaz e terapêutico, resultando em uma melhor assistência biopsicossocial e espiritual. Além disso, suas ações educacionais mostraram-se importantes ao paciente no sentido de motivá-lo a ser responsável por seu cuidado, o que o auxiliará no enfrentamento de problemas e no alcance de sua autonomia. Já suas ações assistenciais se voltaram à promoção da saúde em todos os aspectos e pautaram-se na sistematização da assistência, que lhe proporciona recursos científicos e humanos; demonstraram, ainda, a importância da inserção das práticas alternativas no cuidado do paciente oncológico. Conclusão: todas as evidências forneceram subsídios para que o enfermeiro pudesse compreender sua atuação na reabilitação oncológica. A diversidade e complexidade do seu papel neste cenário demonstra claramente que suas ações são fundamentais, pois abordam todos os comprometimentos biopsicossociais impostos ao cliente pela doença, promovendo uma assistência de enfermagem individualizada, humanizada e holística. Descritores: Papel do Profissional de Enfermagem. Reabilitação. Enfermagem em Reabilitação. Pesquisa de Reabilitação. Neoplasias.