P-39 Complementary therapies effectively assisting palliation of pain, mood and anxiety in a palliative care Hospice setting: a data collection project

<h3>Background</h3> Complementary therapies provide a non-pharmacological intervention that can be used to assist patients with physical, emotional, spiritual and psychological wellbeing. Although there is a plethora of anecdotal evidence that these therapies can contribute to the palliation of physical and psychological symptoms, a clearer insight into patient outcomes would be helpful in assessing the feasibility of their inclusion as part of clinical teams. <h3>Aim</h3> To evaluate the effectiveness of complementary therapies in contributing towards effective palliation of pain, low mood and anxiety in palliative care patients. <h3>Method</h3> 599 reflexology, massage and Reiki treatments were provided to 229 palliative care patients across two hospice sites in Somerset over the course of 22 months. Practitioners asked patients to score pain, mood and anxiety on a 0-10 scale immediately pre- and post-treatment, so that the only factor that could have affected the outcome was the treatment itself. This outcome measurement was adapted from the Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) (Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Royal College of Anaesthetists &amp; The British Pain Society. Outcome measures. 2019) which patients would be familiar with in healthcare environments. The difference was calculated between pre- and post-treatment scoring to determine the effectiveness of the therapies for each symptom. <h3>Results</h3> Patients reported an average improvement in score of 28.01% for mood, 49.19% in pain and 52.87% for anxiety. The largest change in pain came from massage (54.5% improvement); reflexology saw the largest improvement in both anxiety (55.2% improvement) and in mood (31.3% improvement). <h3>Conclusion</h3> The results demonstrate that complementary therapies within a palliative care hospice setting can feasibly offer an effective contribution to the palliation of pain, low mood and anxiety.