Acupressure for Reducing Anxiety in Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy

Acupressure for Anxiety: A Pilot Study of a Nurse-Led Acupressure Intervention for Patients Receiving Chemotherapy

This clinical trial evaluates whether acupressure is helpful to reduce anxiety related to chemotherapy. Anxiety is experienced by many patients with cancer. Anxiety can be related to chemotherapy and may contribute to other symptoms, such as nausea and poor quality of life. Some patients diagnosed with cancer express interest in non-medicinal ways to manage symptoms. Acupressure is a noninvasive intervention that can be used for many different symptoms. Acupressure is well tolerated with minimal reports of adverse reactions, making it a good choice for patients with cancer. This study may help researchers learn whether acupressure is useful for managing anxiety in patients undergoing chemotherapy.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. Evaluate the feasibility of a nurse- and patient-applied acupressure intervention for patients with anxiety associated with active cancer-directed therapy.

II. Patient-reported changes in acute anxiety associated with both the nurse and self-led acupressure interventions will be ascertained.

OUTLINE:

Patients undergo acupressure over 15-120 seconds at a time for up to 15 minutes. After completion of the session, patients may optionally receive an education session on using acupressure at home.

After completion of study intervention, patients who opted to receive education about using acupressure at home are followed up at 1 week.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Be over 18 years of age
• Be actively undergoing chemotherapy in the Mayo Clinic chemotherapy unit
• Report anxiety as a 1 or higher, on a scale from 0 (no anxiety) to 4 (severe anxiety)
• Be willing to undergo a short acupressure session

Exclusion Criteria:

• Does not meet the inclusion criteria