A study of end-of-life care suggests significant gains from massage therapy if it’s preferred by the patient. Researchers also found the benefits may extend to the patient’s primary caregiver.

The study, “Three Lessons From a Randomized Trial of Massage and Meditation at End of Life: Patient Benefit, Outcome Measure Selection, and Design of Trials With Terminally Ill Patients,” involved 108 terminally-ill patients and their study partners, most of whom were spouses or children.

Subjects and study partners were primarily white females. The average age of the subjects was 74, while the average age of the study partners was 54. The median length of association between study partners and subjects was 41 years.

At the time of study enrollment, most of the subjects rated their quality of life as reasonably high and their symptom distress as relatively low.
Researchers conducted baseline interviews with the terminally ill patients before randomly assigning them to one of three treatment conditions: massage, guided meditation or visualization, or friendly visits.

The assigned practitioner then provided up to two interventions per week. After every two visits, subjects completed a short follow-up interview, either by phone or in person, depending on their preference. These interventions and interviews continued until the participant’s death.

“Our primary outcome of interest was the perceived effect of the study treatment on the patient’s quality of life during study participation,” state

In order to determine whether participants were assigned to their preferred intervention, they were asked at the start of the study to indicate their anticipated response in the event they were assigned to each of the three treatment groups. Median ratings for massage were highest, followed by friendly visits and then meditation.

The research revealed the subjects and their study partners received significantly greater benefit if the terminally-ill patients were assigned to their preferred treatment, reported higher quality of life at the time of study enrollment and participated longer in the study.
“Our analysis of study partners’ perceptions of patient benefit … suggests that therapeutic massage over an extended end-of-life period may offer enhanced benefit to terminally ill patients, when compared with either guided meditation/visualization or friendly visits,” state the study’s authors. “Of even greater potential benefit, however, is the matching of available treatments to those actively preferred and requested by patients.”

Authors: Lois Downey, Ruth A. Engelberg, Leanna J. Standish, Leila Kozak and William E. Lafferty.

Sources: University of Washington, Bastyr University Research Center and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. Originally published online in the American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine (April 24, 2009).

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