Background: This review was undertaken within a doctoral project and was driven by recent guidelines, issued by the American Society of Clinical Oncology [1] and the National Consensus Project [2], that recommend massage therapy as an intervention for pain and anxiety management for palliative care patients.
Objectives: To map the available research examining the characteristics (why, what, and how) of massage services in palliative care to inform future research, policy, and practice.
Methods: We applied the Johanna Briggs Institute methodology for the conduct of scoping reviews and followed PRISMA-ScR guidelines.[3] Assisted by an academic librarian, we searched literature across relevant electronic databases. We employed Covidence and the Donabedian Framework [4] to facilitate study selection and to extract and categorise data concerning the characteristics of massage therapy in palliative care settings. Resulting data was deductively and inductively analysed.
Results: We identified 25 research articles, and 7 grey literature sources, from 6 countries, including quantitative and qualitative study designs, policy, and opinion documents. Key findings were a strong consensus amongst palliative care provider organisations of the potential benefits of massage therapy and its alignment with the holistic principles of palliative care. Preferred providers were trained massage therapists applying an extended scope of practice to address an extensive range of symptoms. Participation in interdisciplinary activity appeared to indicate the measure of service integration.
Ongoing outcomes evaluation was reported as essential coupled with a need for improved assessment measures. More research was recommended concerning: strength of benefit; cost-effectiveness; funding models; governance (policies and procedures); integration pathways; training requirements; and improved education for palliative care health professionals about massage therapy.
Conclusion: Our findings surfaced data about massage therapy as an emerging, ‘new’ discipline within palliative care, how it may be conceptualised and operationalised within palliative care settings, and further progressed to support palliative populations.