Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Jul;33(7):757-769.
doi: 10.1177/0269216319846440. Epub 2019 May 6.

Aromatherapy, massage and reflexology: A systematic review and thematic synthesis of the perspectives from people with palliative care needs

Megan Armstrong  1 , Kate Flemming  2 , Nuriye Kupeli  1 , Patrick Stone  1 , Susie Wilkinson  3 , Bridget Candy  1
Affiliations

Aromatherapy, massage and reflexology: A systematic review and thematic synthesis of the perspectives from people with palliative care needs

Megan Armstrong et al. Palliat Med. 2019 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Effectiveness evidence of complementary therapies in people with advanced disease is uncertain, and yet people are still keen to engage in complementary therapy. Insights into people's experiences of complementary therapy in palliative care, the perceived benefits, and how they want it delivered, can inform clinical guidelines and suggest ways to test therapies more appropriately in future evaluations.

Aims: Explore in people with advanced disease (1) the experiences and perceptions of benefits and harms of aromatherapy, massage, and reflexology and (2) how they would like these therapies delivered.

Design: A systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative studies. Database search terms were related to palliative care, aromatherapy, reflexology and massage. Citations and full texts were reviewed independently against predefined inclusion criteria. Studies were appraised for quality. This review is registered at PROSPERO (22/11/2017 CRD42017081409).

Data sources: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, AMED, CINAHL, KoreaMed and ProQuest with a bibliography search to June 2018.

Results: Five qualitative studies in advanced cancer were identified. Three analytical themes were identified: (1) Experience during the therapy (enhanced well-being and escapism), (2) beyond the complementary therapy session (lasting benefits and overall evaluation), and (3) delivery of complementary therapy in palliative care (value of the therapist and delivery of the complementary therapy).

Conclusions: People with advanced cancer experience benefits from aromatherapy, reflexology and massage including enhanced well-being, respite, and escapism from their disease. Complementary therapy interventions should be developed in consultation with the target population to ensure they are delivered and evaluated, where feasible, as they wish.

Keywords: Complementary therapy; advanced cancer; and thematic synthesis; aromatherapy; massage; palliative; reflexology; systematic review.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
PRISMA flow diagram of primary studies.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Mitchell AJ, Chan M, Bhatti H, et al. Prevalence of depression, anxiety, and adjustment disorder in oncological, haematological, and palliative-care settings: a meta-analysis of 94 interview-based studies. Lancet Oncol 2011; 12(2): 160–174. - PubMed
    1. Traeger L, Greer JA, Fernandez-Robles C, et al. Evidence-based treatment of anxiety in patients with cancer. J Clin Oncol 2012; 30(11): 1197–1205. - PubMed
    1. Part A, Gysels M, Higginson IJ. Improving supportive and palliative care for adults with cancer. London: NICE, 2002.
    1. Al-Mahrezi A, Al-Mandhari Z. Palliative care: time for action. Oman Med J 2016; 31(3): 161–163. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cuijpers P, van Straten A, Andersson G, et al. Psychotherapy for depression in adults: a meta-analysis of comparative outcome studies. J Consult Clin Psychol 2008; 76(6): 909–922. - PubMed

Publication types