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.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
30
Undergo acupressure
Receive education session about using acupressure at home
Ancillary studies
Ancillary studies
Mayo Clinic in Rochester
Rochester, Minnesota, United States
Number of patients approached about undergoing acupressure intervention (Feasibility)
Assessed by the number of patients approached about undergoing acupressure intervention.
Time frame: Up to 1 year
Number of patients interested in the initial acupressure intervention in the chemotherapy unit (Feasibility)
Assessed by the number of patients who express interest in the initial acupressure intervention in the chemotherapy unit.
Time frame: Up to 1 year
Number of patients interested in the home acupressure intervention (Feasibility)
Assessed by the number of patients who express interest in the home acupressure intervention.
Time frame: Up to 1 year
Time taken for each nurse-led acupressure intervention in the chemotherapy unit (Feasibility)
Assess by the time recorded for ach nurse-led acupressure intervention in the chemotherapy unit.
Time frame: Up to 1 year
Patient-reported changes in acute anxiety
Assessed with a brief anxiety questionnaire that inquires about the three different domains of anxiety: cognitive symptoms, emotional symptoms, and physical symptoms. Seven questions are answered using 11-point (0-10) scales with different values assigned to the scale per question (e.g. 0=no anxiety/10=worst possible anxiety or 0=strongly disagree/10=strongly agree).
Time frame: At baseline, after a one-time nurse-administered acupressure session, and after one week of self-administered acupressure sessions
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