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The power of touch: external applications from whole medical systems in the care of cancer patients (literature review)

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Abstract

Purpose

In the context of whole medical systems (WMSs), external applications are manual treatments that stem from complementary medicine and are performed by practitioners, nurses and caregivers through the application of interpersonal touch. These applications work via physiological, psychological and social processes and are intended for holistic healing. In integrative oncology, these applications are used to improve patients’ wellbeing. The purpose of the review is to collect and compare research results concerning external applications from WMSs applied to patients with cancer.

Methods

We conducted a literature review to explore the effects of external applications on patients undergoing cancer treatment. Inclusion criteria were external applications from Anthroposophic Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Ayurvedic Medicine, examined detached from the effect interdependencies of their respective WMSs.

Results

Searches identified 111 publications. Final inclusions were four Shiatsu studies (from TCM), supplemented by two case reports exploring anthroposophic external applications. The literature review suggests that external applications may improve patients’ wellbeing during cancer treatment and are associated with physical and psychological effects that potentially enhance supportive cancer care. The number and quality of published studies in the field is limited.

Conclusions

Future empirical investigations should assess the effectiveness and underlying effects in patients with cancer, adhere to a patient-tailored approach, and investigate the systemic complexity of touch-based applications from WMSs.

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Acknowledgements

Christophorus foundation funded this review by a grant. The experts Gisela Blaser (nurse, expert for naturopathic nursing), Dr. med. Christian Kessler (natural medicine and Traditional Indian Medicine specialist), Monika Layer (nurse scientist, expert for integrative care), Doris Rapp, Gabriele Weber and Britta Wilde (nurses, experts for Anthroposophic care) contributed by naming possible sources from grey literature. This permitted a more comprehensive presentation of the procedures of EAs. We thank Christophorus Foundation and the professional experts very much.

Contributions of the authors

Inga Mühlenpfordt: Manuscript writing, organisation, planning, coordination

Wiebke Stritter: Manuscript writing, organisation

Mathias Bertram: Provision of contacts and literature sources

Eran Ben-Arye: Manuscript editing

Georg Seifert: Initiation, organisation, manuscript editing

Funding

Christophorus Foundation supported this review with a grant (grant number 329CST).

Christophorus Stiftung, GLS Treuhand, Kernerplatz 2, 70182 Stuttgart

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Oncology and Hematology, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany

    Inga Mühlenpfordt, Wiebke Stritter & Georg Seifert

  2. Doerthe-Krause-Institute for Nursing Science and Education, Gemeinschaftskrankenhaus Herdecke gGmbH, Gerhard-Kienle-Weg 4, 58313, Herdecke, Germany

    Mathias Bertram

  3. Integrative Oncology Program, Haifa and Western Galilee Oncology Service, Lin and Carmel Medical Centers, Clalit Health Services, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel

    Eran Ben-Arye

  4. The Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, The Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

    Eran Ben-Arye

Authors
  1. Inga Mühlenpfordt
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Correspondence to Inga Mühlenpfordt.

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Appendix

Appendix

Evaluation of intervention studies: criteria of evidence-based nursing according to Behrens and Langer (Behrens and Langer [37])

  1. 1.

    Credibility

    • Describe recruitment and group allocation

    • Call drop-outs

    • Ensure blinding of the test person*inside

    • Ensure similarity of the composition of the investigated groups

    • Create similar framework conditions in the treatment of groups

    • Uniform evaluation of all randomly assigned participants

    • Ensure sufficient SP size for effect strength

    • Establish comparability with similar investigations in the field

  2. 2.

    Informative value of the study

    • Meaningfulness treatment effect

    • Exclusion of random effect

    • Precision of the results

  3. 3.

    Usability/applicability of the results

    • Transferability of results to other patients

    • Consideration of all relevant results

    • Cost-benefit assessment of the contents examined

Evaluation of the implementation of qualitative studies. Criteria according to Mayring (Mayring [38])

  1. 1.

    Procedure documentation

    • Differentiated description of the procedure

    • Argumentative interpretation protection

    • Comprehensible interpretations

  2. 2.

    Rule-based approach

    • Define and follow rules in advance

  3. 3.

    Closeness to the object of the study

    • Ensure proximity to the environment of the researched person

  4. 4.

    Communicative validation

    • Exchange of results with the person examined

  5. 5.

    Triangulation

    • Compare different methodical approaches to the problem

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Mühlenpfordt, I., Stritter, W., Bertram, M. et al. The power of touch: external applications from whole medical systems in the care of cancer patients (literature review). Support Care Cancer 28, 461–471 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-019-05172-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-019-05172-7

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