EFFECTIVENESS OF PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION IN REDUCING NAUSEA, VOMITING, AND ANXIETY INDUCED BY CHEMOTHERAPY IN JAPANESE PATIENTS.
Contributors: Catholic University of America.
Published: 1995
Number of pages: 164
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Health Sciences, Oncology.
Description: The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) in reducing nausea, vomiting, and anxiety induced by chemotherapy in Japanese patients. The following question was proposed: What are the effects of a program of progressive muscle relaxation on the incidence of nausea, vomiting, and anxiety induced by chemotherapy in Japanese patients?.

The pretest-posttest control group design with repeated measures was used. The subjects consisted of 60 cancer chemotherapy patients who were hospitalized in a cancer center located in a metropolitan area of Japan. These subjects were randomly assigned to either the experimental or the control group. All subjects met the selection criteria and consented to participate in the study.

The subjects in the experimental group received progressive muscle relaxation training plus routine nursing care, while the subjects in the control group received routine nursing care and contact with the investigator.

Two instruments were used to collect quantitative data: a Japanese version of the Rhodes Index of Nausea and Vomiting (INV)-Form 2 and the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) Form X-1.

All subjects were pre-tested 7 days before their first chemotherapy and post-tested 2 hours before the initiation of chemotherapy. Subsequently, nausea and vomiting were measured every 12 hours for 3 days after the initiation of chemotherapy.

Four proposed hypotheses were tested by employing the repeated measures analysis of variance (2 x 6) (ANOVA) and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Three hypotheses were related to nausea and vomiting and the other hypothesis dealt with anxiety.

The results derived from this study verified the effectiveness of progressive muscle relaxation to reduce total scores of nausea, vomiting, and retching, subscale scores of nausea, and subjective feelings of state anxiety. The efficacy of progressive muscle relaxation to reduce subscale scores of vomiting was not confirmed, partly due to an extremely low incidence of vomiting.

The findings of the present study suggest that relaxation training may be incorporated into existing nursing care as an effective nursing intervention for Japanese patients who are experiencing nausea, vomiting, and anxiety induced by chemotherapy.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-05, Section: B, page: 2553.

Thesis (D.N.SC.)--THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA, 1995.

School code: 0043.