The Effect of Reiki Application on Pain, Fatigue and Sleep Quality in Elderly Persons Staying in Nursing Homes

April 16, 2026 updated by: Gülcan Bahçecioğlu Turan, Ataturk University
A person's life is a stage that passes in the time interval that ends with his birth when he opens his eyes to the world and his death when he closes his eyes to the world. Old age is a forced end for all people. Sleep is one of the most important and basic human needs. It prepares the individual for a new day by resting the body, strengthening and regulating the cerebral functions and repairing the brain. While a change in sleep pattern and quality affects a person's daily life activities, long-term persistence of this change may lead to deterioration of body and mental health.During Reiki practices, the hands are held in each position for 3-5 minutes by touching the head, neck, chest, abdominal cavity and groin. In problem areas, this time can be extended to 10-20 minutes. The duration of treatment lasts an average of 30-90 minutes. During the application, the person is in a lying or lying position and does not need to take off his clothes.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

In the elderly, the pathology of fatigue has not yet been fully elucidated. Natural changes and the disadvantages of age can be the cause of fatigue. Decrease in muscle strength, sarcopenia, pain, inactivity, changes in body composition due to malnutrition, decrease in physical fitness, insufficient energy systems, cardiovascular and respiratory problems, medications used can cause fatigue in the elderly. It has been shown that 27-50% of the elderly suffer from moderate to severe fatigue. Increasing the severity of fatigue reduces the daily activity performance of the elderly (6). Today, in many areas, in addition to medical treatment to reduce the symptoms of chronic diseases, alternative and complementary medicine are also used. Reiki, which constitutes our research subject; one of the energy approaches, in Japan at the end of the 19th century, Dr. It is a complementary medicine application discovered by Usui in Sanskrit inscriptions, which has been shown to be effective on pain, depression, insomnia and fatigue symptoms. Reiki is generally safe and no serious side effects have been reported. Reiki practice in the last 10 years; it increases among physicians, nurses and other health workers.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
60

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.
  • Name: Esra Tosun, STD
  • Phone Number: 05347908640

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Merkez
      • Elâzığ, Merkez, Turkey (Türkiye), 23000
        • Gülcan B Turan

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

50 years to 90 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • • Being a nursing home resident and being 50 years or older,

    • Not having a communication problem,
    • Not having been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or other mental illness,
    • Not taking antidepressant treatment,
    • Having chronic pain (arthralgia, back pain, musculoskeletal pain - at least once a day),
    • Not using a pain reliever all the time,
    • Willingness to participate in a four-week reiki program,
    • Not having received body-mind therapy (yoga, reiki, massage, meditation) in the last six months.
    • Having a scale score of >5 on the Piper Fatigue Scale
    • A score of >5 on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Scale
    • A scale score of >5 on the Visual Analog Scale

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Needing antidepressant treatment,
  • Not getting bored with work and not wanting to answer questions.

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Sequential Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Experimental:
reiki will be aplicated
Behavioral: pain
reiki
Other Names:
  • tiredness
  • sleep quality
No Intervention: control
Routine maintenance will be applied.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PUKI);
Time Frame: 1 hours later
The scale is a safe and consistent questionnaire that evaluates the amount of sleep, sleep quality, presence and severity of sleep disorders in individuals in the last month.There are seven components in PUKI. These components are subjective sleep quality (component 1), sleep latency (component 2), sleep duration (component 3), habitual sleep efficiency (component 4), sleep disturbance (component 5), sleep medication use (component 6) and daytime dysfunction. (component 7). The evaluation score of each item is between 0-3. The total score obtained varies between 0-21. The higher the score, the worse the sleep quality. A score greater than five indicates poor sleep quality.
1 hours later
Piper Fatigue Scale
Time Frame: 1 hours later
The scale evaluates the individual's subjective perception of fatigue in four sub-dimensions. These; behavior/violence sub-dimension evaluating the effect and severity of fatigue on activities of daily living (ADLs (6 items; 2-7); affect sub-dimension, which includes the emotional meaning attributed to fatigue (5 items; 8-12); it is the sensory sub-dimension (5 items; 13-17) that reflects the mental, physical and emotional symptoms of fatigue, and the cognitive/spiritual sub-dimension that reflects the effect of fatigue on cognitive functions and mental state (6 items; 18-23). As a result of the average score; 0 points are interpreted as no fatigue, 1-3 points as mild fatigue, 4-6 points as moderate fatigue, 7-10 points as severe fatigue. High scores obtained from the scale mean that the perceived fatigue level is high.
1 hours later
Visual Analog Scale (VAS) Evaluation
Time Frame: 1 hours later
The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) is used to convert some values that cannot be measured numerically. Two end definitions of the parameter to be evaluated are written at the two ends of a 100 mm line, and the patient is asked to indicate where on this line their situation is appropriate by drawing a line or by placing a dot or pointing. For example, for pain, I have no pain at one end and very severe pain at the other end and the patient marks his/her current state on this line. The length of the distance from the point where there is no pain to the point marked by the patient indicates the patient's pain.
1 hours later

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Ataturk University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
December 1, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
January 6, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 30, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
January 28, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 28, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 8, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
April 21, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 16, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • E-97132852-050.01.04-162832

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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