Acupressure and Therapeutic Touch in Childhood Cancer to Promote Subjective and Intersubjective Experiences of Well-being During Curative Treatment

Abstract

Acupressure and therapeutic touch may be beneficial for symptom management and increasing general well-being for children undergoing cancer treatment. Acupressure has the benefit of stimulating targeted acupuncture points while providing therapeutic touch. We sought to explore the relationship between acupressure and the experience of well-being among children being treated for cancer who received acupressure. Methods: In the Acupressure for Children in Treatment for a Childhood Cancer trial, hospitalized children received acupressure using specified acupressure points for symptom control as well as points for general well-being. Acupressure was delivered by professionals and by caregivers, following training by the professional. Qualitative data were collected through semistructured interviews with a purposive sample of professional acupressure providers (n ¼ 3) and primary caregivers (n ¼ 13), combined with participant observation during the acupressure intervention. Data were analyzed using grounded theory methods. Results: Analysis of provider interview, caregiver interview, and participation observation yielded 3 prominent themes: (1) well-being elicited by acupressure, (2) well-being elicited by touch, and (3) well-being experienced as relational and intersubjective. These themes, taken together, illustrate the intricate ways in which an intervention like acupressure can help alleviate the difficulties of a childhood cancer illness experience by promoting well-being in the child as well as the caregiver. Acupressure brought symptom relief, physical relaxation, and comforting touch to the child, allowing the caregiver to also feel relief and relaxation as caregiver-child experience of well-being are closely intertwined. Conclusions: Data from the 3 sources provided distinct and overlapping insights suggesting the versatile benefits of acupressure in promoting well-being during childhood cancer treatment. Professional acupressure combined with training of caregivers for childhood cancer may be a relational intervention that facilitates the experience of well-being for both the caregiver and the child.

Safety of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) treatment among children and young adults who suffer from adverse effects of conventional cancer treatment: A systematic review

“…Two studies investigated acupuncture. One study investigated the use and safety of acupuncture among children receiving cancer treatment at Columbia Medical Center, USA, 40 and another delineated the use of acupuncture for symptom management and general well-being 43 among hospitalized children. The latter was a qualitative study nested within a clinical acupuncture trial.…”

“…They received a median of 4 treatment sessions/acupuncture was more likely to be used for gastrointestinal and constitutional symptoms including drowsiness ( P < .0001), lack of energy ( P = .0001), and pain ( P = .001). Hu et al 43 investigated acupressure together with therapeutic touch, and qualitative data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with caregivers and acupuncturists. According to these participants, acupressure brought symptom relief (ie, pain, nausea, etc.…”

“…For the observational studies, 1 study addressed 9, 44 another 8, 45 and another 7 40 of the 11 items for cohort studies ( Table 6 ). Two qualitative studies 43 , 49 addressed 8 and 9 out of 10 items respectively and finally, 1 study 42 addressed 7 out of 9 items ( Table 7 ).…”

“…Limiting the studies to the languages stated in the methods could also have led us to miss some relevant papers. Another limitation is that there are 2 articles 43 , 44 where participants older than 18 years were included. The results reported in this review therefore to some extent also represent young adults with cancer.…”

Possibilities of rehabilitation treatment of children with lymphoblastic leukemia (literary review)

“…Так, застосування низькочастотного магнітного поля обґрунтовано при супутніх захворюваннях нервової системи для збільшення швидкості проведення імпульсів по нервових волокнах, зменшення периневрального набряку тощо [7]. Акупресура із залученням спеціальних точок, як один з методів рефлексотерапіїї, дозволяє зменшити біль та покращити загальне самопочуття в дітей з онкопатологією [8].…”