The Effect of Reiki on Anxiety, Stress and Comfort Levels
Condition: Reiki; Gastro-Intestinal Disorder
MeSH terms: Intestinal Diseases; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Digestive System Diseases
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Anxiety and stress are problems which are often seen in patients about to undergo upper
      gastrointestinal endoscopy, and taking them under control is important in calming the person
      and in reducing complications. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of reiki
      applied before upper gastrointestinal endoscopy on levels of anxiety, stress and comfort.
      This was a single-blind, randomized sham-controlled study. Patients who met the inclusion
      criteria were separated by randomization into three groups: reiki (n=53), sham reiki (n=53)
      and control (n=53). A total of 159 patients participated in the study. In the reiki group,
      reiki was applied once for approximately 20-25 minutes before gastrointestinal endoscopy.
      Collection of data was by a Patient Identification Form, the Visual Analog Scale for Stress,
      the State Anxiety Inventory, and the Short General Comfort Questionnaire.
    

Detailed description: 
      Anxiety and stress are problems which are often seen in patients about to undergo upper GI
      endoscopy, and taking them under control is important in calming the person and in reducing
      complications. Studies have been conducted evaluating the effectiveness on these symptoms of
      various procedures such as aromatherapy, music therapy and reflexology in patients about to
      undergo upper GI endoscopy (Monfared, Mirzaee Jirdehi, Mansour Ghanaei, Joukar, & Kazemnezhad
      Leyli, 2020; Shaermoghadam, Shahdadi, Khorsandvakilzadeh, Afshari, & Badakhsh, 2016; Sogabe
      et al, 2018). Only one study was found which examined the effect of reiki on anxiety before
      colonoscopy (Hulse, Stuart-Shor, & Russo, 2010), and no studies were found examining the
      effect of the implementation of reiki on levels of anxiety, stress and comfort in patients
      about to undergo upper GI endoscopy. This strengthens the particular value of this research.
      Also, it is thought that the results of this study will contribute to the literature in
      forming a basis for other studies on the topic. Therefore, the aim of the study was to
      evaluate the effect of the application of reiki and sham reiki on anxiety, stress and comfort
      levels in patients about to undergo upper GI endoscopy.This study had a randomized
      sham-controlled trial design. It was conducted between 2 February 2021 and 1 April 2021 in
      the Endoscopy Outpatients' Department of a state hospital in the Southeast Region of Turkey.
      In order to determine the applicability of the data collection form, a pre-application was
      conducted with 15 patients. The patients who were in the application group were not included
      in the sample group. The data were collected using the Patient Identification Form, the
      Visual Analog Scale for Stress (VASS), the State Anxiety Inventory (SAI) and the Short
      General Comfort Questionnaire (SGCQ).
    

Intervention name(s): Reiki; Sham reiki
Intervention type(s): Other; Other
Intervention description(s): Reiki was performed according to the need of each patient and lasted an average of 20-25 minutes. After the procedure, the patients were left to rest for ten minutes. The researcher was focused in a neutral way on the sessions without the intention of healing. After the session, the patients were allowed to rest for ten minutes.; With the Sham Reiki patients, a nurse without reiki training performed Sham Reiki randomly for approximately 20-25 minutes, following a protocol which did not include the body's energy centers or chakras.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Participant)
Primary purpose: Supportive Care
Keywords: Anxiety; Comfort; Endoscopy; Nursing; Reiki; Stress