The Effect of Distance Reiki on State Test Anxiety and Test Performance: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Nursing Students.

BACKGROUND: This randomized controlled, pretest-post-test intervention study examined the effect of distance reiki on state test anxiety and test performance. METHOD: First-year nursing students (n = 71) were randomized into two groups. One week before the examination, intervention group participants performed reiki remotely for 20 minutes for 4 consecutive days, and control group participants received no intervention. RESULTS: The intervention group had lower posttest cognitive and psychosocial subscale scores than pretest scores (p > .05). The control group had a significantly higher mean posttest physiological subscale score than pretest score (p < .05). Final grade point averages were not significantly different between the intervention and control groups (p > .05). One quarter of the intervention group participants noted reiki reduced their stress and helped them perform better on the examination. CONCLUSION: Reiki is a safe and easy-to-practice method to help students cope with test anxiety. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(5):298-303.].

Is Reiki effective in reducing heart rhythm, cortisol and anxiety and improving biochemical parameters in individuals with cardiac disesase? Randomized placebo-controlled trial.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of Reiki in patients with cardiac disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: This study was a single-blind, pre-post-test, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Patients from the cardiology outpatient clinic of a training and research hospital were randomized into three groups: Reiki (n = 22), sham (placebo) (n = 21), and control (no treatment) (n = 22). Data were collected using a personal information form, biochemical parameters, cortisol levels, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and electrocardiography analysis. The Reiki group received Reiki to nine main points for 30 min, while the sham Reiki group received the same points during the same period without starting energy flow. On day two, performed Distance Reiki for 30 minutes. After one week, the researchers administered the Beck Anxiety Inventory, assessed the biochemical parameters and cortisol levels, and analyzed the electrocardiography again. Of the patients, 52.3% were male and 47.7% were female, and the mean age (years) is 60.45 ± 9.67 years. The control group had a significantly higher posttest cortisol level than the other groups (p = 0.002). According to the post-hoc analysis, there was a significant difference between the Reiki versus control groups and sham versus control groups (p = 0.002). The control group had a significantly higher post-test cortisol level than the pre-test cortisol level (p = 0.008). Reiki group had a significantly lower mean posttest Beck Anxiety Inventory score than the other groups (p < 0.001). There was no difference between the electrocardiography results of the groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Reiki reduces blood cortisol levels and anxiety levels in patient with cardiac diseases.

The Effect of Reiki on Pain, Functional Status, and Holistic Well-Being in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic degenerative joint disease that causes pain and adversely affects functional status and holistic well-being. This randomized controlled trial investigated the effect of Reiki on pain, functional status, and holistic well-being in patients with knee OA. The sample consisted of 42 patients. The control group received standardized treatment only, whereas the intervention group received face-to-face Reiki (nine positions; 39 minutes) and distance Reiki on two consecutive days in addition to standardized treatment. The Reiki group had lower pain scores than the control group as measured by the Visual Analog Scale (p < .001) and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index pain score (p < .001). Those participating in the Reiki group had improved holistic well-being scores specifically for the subscales of Sadness, Perception of Sadness, Spiritual Disruption, Cognitive Awareness, and General mood. Reiki is a safe, noninvasive, and cost-effective alternative treatment technique that has the potential to reduce symptoms of pain and improve holistic well-being in patients with knee OA.

Urinary Incontinence in Older Adults: Impact on Caregiver Burden.

The objective of the current descriptive, cross-sectional, and relationship-seeking study was to evaluate the severity of urinary incontinence (UI) in older adults and its impact on care burden of their family caregivers. This study was performed prospectively with 80 older adults (aged ≥65 years) with UI and their family caregivers who attended a urology clinic between June and December 2021. UI was assessed using the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Short Form (ICIQ-UI-SF), and caregiver burden using the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI). Increase in care time was associated with higher burden of care (p = 0.018). Post-hoc analyses suggested that caregivers' burden of care gradually increased up to the first 9 months. Daily care time >9 hours had a higher burden compared to care times <9 hours (p < 0.001). Mean ZBI score of caregivers was 41.47 (SD = 10.18) and mean ICIQ-UI-SF score of older adults was 15.02 (SD = 3.9). A significant correlation was observed between increased ICIQ-UI-SF scores of older adults and ZBI scores of caregivers (r = 0.354, p = 0.001). Caring for older adults with UI is associated with a significant burden of care and an increase in severity of UI is associated with increased burden of care. Female sex, lower educational level, presence of comorbidities, increased care time, and daily care hours were factors associated with increased burden of care among caregivers. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 49(4), 39-46.].

The Effect of Distant Reiki on the Stress and Fatigue Levels of Nurses Working in COVID-19 Clinics: A Randomized-Controlled, Single-Blind Study.

The study was conducted using a pre/posttest, randomized-controlled, single-blind trial method. After the pretest, a survey was administered and, distant Reiki was applied to nurses in the intervention group (n = 30) for 20 minutes a day for 4 consecutive days at a usual time. No intervention was made in the control group (n = 32). On the second day after the fourth Reiki session, a posttest survey was administered to nurses in the intervention group. The control group, on the other hand, was administered the posttest survey together with the last intervention group. As a result, in the intervention group, there was a decrease in the mean scores of the Helpless Approach subdimension on the Coping Style Scale and an increase in the mean scores of the Optimistic Approach and Social Support subdimensions (P < .05). In the Visual Analog Scale for Fatigue, the mean Fatigue score in the intervention group decreased and there was an increase in the Energy subdimension mean score (P < .05).

The effect of caregiver educational program on caregiver reactions and lifestyle behaviors for caregivers of colorectal cancer patients: a quasi-experimental study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of the educational package provided to enhance family caregivers' experience of colorectal cancer patients receiving chemotherapy on healthy lifestyle and caregiving reactions. METHODS: The study was conducted as a pre-test-post-test, quasi-experimental intervention with a control group. The study population consisted of 100 caregivers who provide primary care to patients with colorectal cancer. The data were collected using the "Socio-Demographic Characteristics Data Collection Form," the "Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale-II," and the "Caregiver Reaction Assessment" forms. The pre-test was applied to the experimental and control groups at the first interview. After the preliminary interview, the experimental group was applied three times to face-to-face individual educational sessions through the education booklet prepared by taking the opinions of 5 academician nurses who are experts in the oncology field. The post-test then was applied to the caregivers in the experimental and control groups. RESULTS: After the education provided to the experimental group, a statistically positive change was observed in the mean scores of all sub-dimensions of Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale-II except for the physical sub-dimension (the p values for interpersonal relationships, nutrition, health responsibility, physical activity, stress management, spiritual growth were p = 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p = 0.098, p = 0.035, and p = 0.018, respectively). In the control group, there was a statistically significant negative change in the post-test mean scores in all sub-dimensions of the Caregiver Reaction Assessment Scale (the p values for self-esteem, lack of family support, financial problems, interruption of daily life, and health problems were p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p = 0.007, p = 0.004, p = 0.001 respectively). Lack of family support in caregivers negatively affected interpersonal relationships, nutrition (r = - 0.465, p = 0.001, r = - 300 p = 0.034 respectively), health responsibility, and spiritual growth (r = - 0.514 p < 0,001, r = - 384 p = 0.006). CONCLUSION: It is important to interact with caregivers during the chemotherapy process to reduce problems in family members. Providing professional support through an education program reduces negative effects on caregivers, provides psychosocial support to caregivers and can improve patient outcomes.