The Effect of Touch Therapy on Symptoms and Psychosocial Variables in Individuals Diagnosed With Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Touch therapy is used in the control of physical and psychological symptoms in cancer patients. However, its effectiveness has not been well studied.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of touch therapy intervention on symptoms and psychosocial factors for patients with cancer.

Method: Four electronic databases were used to identify all experimental studies that examine the effects of touch therapy on symptoms and psychosocial factors for patients with cancer. The standardized mean differences between groups in levels of symptoms and psychosocial factors for postintervention were computed for each study.

Result: The pooled results suggest that touch therapy intervention effectively reduces pain, fatigue, anxiety, and negative mood among patients with cancer postintervention. However, touch therapy intervention did not affect the quality of life and stress.

Conclusion: A significant effect of touch therapy was the reduction of physical and psychological symptoms in cancer patients.

Implications For Practice: Touch therapy could be safely integrated into the clinical practice of patients with cancer.