The Use of Reiki for Patients With Advanced AIDS

August 17, 2006 updated by: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
This study will investigate the use of Reiki, an energy-based complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) intervention, as an approach to improve well-being for patients with advanced AIDS, and evaluate its effects on dimensions of well-being and quality of life.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study will investigate the use of Reiki, an energy-based complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) intervention, as an approach to improve well being for patients with advanced AIDS, and evaluate its effects on dimensions of well being and quality of life. The study is a two-group comparison between participants receiving Reiki plus usual medical care (treatment) and participants receiving usual medical care only (control).

One hundred and forty-six patients with advanced AIDS will be enrolled and randomized into the two groups. Patients in the intervention (Reiki) group will receive a total of three one-hour Reiki sessions over a period of 6 weeks. Participants in both the intervention and control groups will be assessed at two times during the study period using repeated measures. We will investigate and compare changes in participants' anxiety, depression, pain, quality of life, and spiritual well being at the end of the intervention period. This is the first part of a longer-term research agenda to examine the use and effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicines for patients with advanced disease. We plan to examine one clinical context in which Reiki is currently provided. It is important to design studies that respect both the context of care and the practitioner-client relationship-elements essential to an understanding of the philosophy and delivery of CAM such as Reiki, and at the same time endeavor to outline a systematic approach to the study of CAM.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment

146

Phase

  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Pennsylvania
      • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19141
        • Albert Einstein Medical Center
      • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19121
        • Temple University

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

Ages Eligible for Study

21 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion criteria:

  • Diagnosis of advanced AIDS, defined as: CD4 count of less than 200 during the past 12 months;
  • On HAART for at least 6 months;
  • Over age 18;
  • Decisionally capable of providing informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Not capable of providing informed consent because of psychiatric limitations, e.g. active psychosis.

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: TREATMENT
  • Allocation: RANDOMIZED
  • Interventional Model: FACTORIAL
  • Masking: NONE

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Gala True, PhD, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network

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

March 1, 2002

Study Completion

September 1, 2003

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 29, 2002

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 29, 2002

First Posted (ESTIMATE)

April 1, 2002

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE)

August 18, 2006

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 17, 2006

Last Verified

July 1, 2006

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • R21AT001012-01 (NIH)

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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