Massage therapy for hospice patients.

The massage therapy is provided by certified massage therapists and delivered in the home setting. Techniques and duration of massage therapy is customized based on input from the patient and/or caregiver at the start of the session regarding nature and location of discomfort and other symptoms, and based on other factors such as contra-indications/complicating factors, medical issues, and additional diagnoses. The number of massage therapy interventions range from 2-3, 1 week apart, with each session lasting between 20-45 minutes in duration.

The primary endpoints are patient pain, depression, anxiety and wellbeing as measured by ESAS-r. Pro-rated area under the curve (AUC) statistics will be calculated for all individual items and total scores. The pro-rated AUC for ESAS-r measured pain, depression, anxiety, and wellbeing will all be utilized individually to assess the primary endpoint. The pro-rated AUC will be compared to the assessment score prior to any massage therapy. If there is any improvement, the massage therapy will be considered a success since any improvement will be seen as beneficial.

Secondary endpoints include all other symptoms (tiredness, drowsiness, nausea, lack of appetite, shortness of breath) as measured by the ESAS-r. Similar analysis will be conducted for all other endpoints as was conducted for the primary outcome. Pro-rated area under the curve (AUC) statistics will be calculated for all individual items and total scores.