The Effectiveness of P6 and Auricular Acupressure as a Complimentary Therapy in Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting Among Patients With Cancer: Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) is one of the most prevalent and distressing side effects of chemotherapy among patients with cancer worldwide. Despite continuing advances in antiemetic medicines, nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy remain a substantial therapeutic concern for many patients. However, P6 and Auricular acupressure (AA) have been recognized as potential therapy for managing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. AIM: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of P6 and Auricular acupressure (AA) in reducing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting among patients with cancer. And to explore a prominent and effective evidence-based protocol for implementing acupressure to treat chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. METHOD: This systematic review was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Several databases were used to search for eligible studies using specific keywords. Only systematic reviews and clinical trials on acupressure for managing CINV among adults with cancer were included. This review covered articles published in English from 2015 to 2022. RESULTS: A total of 14 published studies were included in this review study; 10 articles were trial studies, and the other 4 were systematic review and meta-analysis studies. The quality of 10 included clinical trials were assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) Quality Assessment Tool for quantitative studies, the overall result showed that 40% of study rated with moderate quality, no study was rated with low quality, and (60%) studies rated as high-quality study. As well as the quality assessment of all review studies showed that the majority of included systematic reviews and meta-analysis with a low risk of bias and high to moderate power of evidence. In all included studies the acupressure was utilized as a primary complementary intervention for chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting. The result of this extensive and comprehensive review the P6 and auricular acupressure is an effective complementary therapy in reducing and controlling chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting among participants with various types of cancer and receiving various types of chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: The successful and effective application of acupressure in managing CINV for certain types of cancer had been supported in previous literature as a safe, affordable, and non-invasive alternative to pharmaceutical medications. However, standardization guidelines regarding the use of acupressure independently or in combination with other pharmacological therapies to address CINV in various cancers require immediate attention.

Attitudes of Jordanian Nurses Toward Caring for Dying Patients.

Hospital nurses are expected to care for dying patients. Such care provokes many undesired emotions and attitudes that affect the quality of care. This study aims to assess the attitudes of Jordanian nurses toward caring for dying patients in addition to examining the relationship between nurses' attitudes toward caring for dying patients and their selected characteristics. A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional research design was used to recruit a total of 290 Jordanian nurses from two hospitals in Jordan. The findings of this study revealed a significant correlation between nurses' attitudes toward caring for dying patients and receiving educational courses on palliative care (p = .008). Also, the study found a correlation between nurses' attitudes toward caring for dying patients and prior experience attending death cases (p = .004). The attitudes nurses have toward caring for dying patients are affected by educational courses, which make these attitudes adjustable toward the positive.

Death Anxiety and Associated Factors Among Oncology Nurses and Physicians.

Background: Providing care for dying patients is a stress-inducing, complicated, as well as essential responsibility for health care providers. Furthermore, end-of-life care is associated with intense personal emotions such as grief, anxiety, depression, frustration, and guilt. Moreover, caring for terminally ill patients is a challenging task that confronts physicians and nurses with the psychological concerns of dealing with death, which is accompanied by a high level of physical and psychological discomfort.Objective: This study was aimed to measure the level of death anxiety among oncology nurses and physicians and to determine the associated factors that influence their level of death anxiety.Method: A cross-sectional descriptive design was used to guide this study, a non-probability convenience sampling method was used to recruit 200 oncology nurses and physicians from one specialized cancer center in Jordan. Data were collected using an electronic self-reported questionnaire include demographic data sheet and Collett-Lester fear of death scale, as well as all participants were invited via email for voluntary participation in this study.Result: The results revealed that the oncology nurses and physicians exhibited a moderate levels of death anxiety (CLDFODS = 91.07), furthermore, the result showed that female nurses and physicians exhibited a higher level of anxiety than male. Further, there were statistically significant differences in nurses' and physicians' level of death anxiety according to years of experience, receiving previous education on death and dying, and religious beliefs. On the other hand, there is no statistically significant differences in nurses' and physicians' level of death anxiety based on present or previous experience with loss of someone close to them.Conclusion: Jordanian oncology Nurses and physicians exhibited a moderate levels of death anxiety and fear of death, therefore, they have to address the inevitability of mortality since they are caring for dying patients frequently. They have to understand and acknowledge their thoughts regarding death and dying, as well as their death anxiety level before interacting with dying patients.