Effects of Reiki Therapy On Stress And Biophysical Measures Among Adults With Hypertension in Laguna, Philippines

Abstract

Elevated blood pressure or hypertension is a well-known main risk factor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality among adult population and it affects more than a billion of people worldwide. It is therefore necessary to develop management to control hypertension. Complementary therapy with its holistic dimension can be effective tool for dealing with this challenge, to the degree that they aid in preserving homeostasis throughout life. Reiki, a universal vital energy, intends to support in restoring the energetic system of the body by stimulating natural healing processes of the body. These processes can be utilized to generate relaxation and heal health problems. The main objective of this study is to determine the effects of Reiki therapy on the biophysical measures (blood pressure and heart rate) and stress level of individuals with essential hypertension. The study utilized a one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design and selection of study participants was through non probability purposive sampling. Of the 217 screened individuals, 125 individuals excluded from the study and only 92 met the eligibility criteria. Barangay Health Workers (BHWs) were recruited and trained by the principal investigator to be Reiki practitioner who implemented Reiki treatment to study participants. Reiki practitioners followed Reiki protocol which involved 19 different hand positions and placement on study participant’s body that lasted for 2 minutes. One day prior to Reiki therapy, baseline data were taken. Biophysical measures such as the blood pressure and heart rate were measured using OMRON HEM 7120 digital BP monitor and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was utilized to measure the level of stress. One week after the last Reiki therapy session, biophysical measures and stress level were once again measured. This study reported that the level of stress among adult patients with essential hypertension before and after Reiki intervention was within the moderate stress scores. Moreover, this study reported that the level of biophysical measures (blood pressure and heart rate) among adult patients with essential hypertension before and after Reiki intervention was considered stage 2 hypertension. Using paired sample t-test, the study results showed that there are no significant differences in the level of stress and biophysical measures (blood pressure and heart rate) after Reiki therapy. Lastly, the correlation coefficient results did not report relationship between the level of stress and biophysical measures. The correlations were weak and not statistically significant, between heart rate and stress level, between heart rate and systolic BP, between heart rate and diastolic and between systolic BP and stress level.