Abstract
BackgroundPatients waiting for chemotherapy can experience stress, anxiety, nausea, and pain. Acupressure and meditation have been shown to control such symptoms.ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of an integrative medicine app to educate patients about these self-care tools in chemotherapy waiting rooms.MethodsWe screened and enrolled cancer patients in chemotherapy waiting rooms at two Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center locations. Patients were randomly assigned into an intervention arm in which subjects watched acupressure and meditation instructional videos or a control arm in which they watched a time- and attention-matched integrative oncology lecture video. Before and after watching the videos, we asked the patients to rate four key symptoms: stress, anxiety, nausea, and pain. We performed the analysis of covariance to detect differences between the two arms postintervention while controlling for baseline symptoms.ResultsA total of 223 patients were enrolled in the study: 113 patients were enrolled in the intervention arm and 110 patients were enrolled in the control arm. In both groups, patients showed significant reductions in stress and anxiety from baseline (all P<.05), with the treatment arm reporting greater stress and anxiety reduction than the control arm (1.64 vs 1.15 in stress reduction; P=.01 and 1.39 vs 0.78 in anxiety reduction; P=.002). The majority of patients reported that the videos helped them pass time and that they would watch the videos again.ConclusionsAn integrative medicine self-care app in the waiting room improved patients’ experiences and reduced anxiety and stress. Future research could focus on expanding this platform to other settings to improve patients’ overall treatment experiences.
Highlights
Ambulatory parenteral chemotherapy is a common mainstream cancer treatment
From October 19, 2016, to December 29, 2016, we approached 363 patients when they arrived at 2 chemotherapy waiting rooms at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK)
61.4% (223/363) agreed to participate in the study, and they were subsequently randomized into the intervention arm (n=113) or the control arm (n=110)
Summary
Ambulatory parenteral chemotherapy is a common mainstream cancer treatment. Long wait times for chemotherapy can cause patient dissatisfaction and anticipatory nausea [1,2]. Long delays in chemotherapy waiting rooms can trigger patients to feel stress, anxiety, pain, and anticipatory nausea. These symptoms can cause adverse treatment experiences and incur health care cost if intervention is needed. Integrative therapies such as acupressure and mindfulness meditation are used by individuals undergoing cancer treatments to alleviate symptoms such as pain, nausea, and anxiety. Mindfulness meditation has been extensively studied and shown to reduce anxiety and stress [11,12,13,14] It is a mind-body technique that places intentional focus on the present state of the body to achieve relaxation. Acupressure and meditation have been shown to control such symptoms
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