The Effect of Reiki on Pain Applied to Patients With Cancer A Systematic Review

Pain, the most common and major source of fear in patients with cancer, reduces the quality of life. This systematic review was conducted to determine the effect of Reiki on pain applied to patients with cancer. The creation of a systematic review protocol and the writing of the article were based on the PRISMA-P (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols) criteria. The literature review was carried out in PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases. Seven experimental and quasi-experimental studies met the inclusion criteria, and a total of 572 patients with cancer with sample sizes ranging from 18 to 180 were included. In-person Reiki was applied in 6 of the studies included in the systematic review, while in one of them, distance Reiki was applied. Although Reiki was found to reduce pain in 5 studies included in the review, it was determined that it was not effective on pain in 2 studies. A limited number of studies show that Reiki applied to patients with cancer has a positive effect on pain. It is recommended to conduct more randomized controlled trials with a high methodological quality that examine the effectiveness of Reiki application for patients with cancer.