Can relaxation interventions reduce anxiety in patients receiving radiotherapy?: outcomes and study validity

Purpose: This study piloted the use of three relaxation interventions in an attempt to reduce levels of anxiety in patients who are immobilised for radiotherapy treatment of head and neck cancers, as well as trying to validate the study methodology. Methods: In addition to receiving normal radiation therapy treatment, 14 patients were assigned to either a control group not receiving the relaxation intervention or one of three validated relaxation intervention techniques; music therapy, aromatherapy or guided imagery. Patients in the intervention groups underwent the relaxation technique daily for the first seven days of treatment. On days 1, 3, 5 and 7 of treatment patients were required to complete the State Anxiety Inventory survey. Results: i/ While caution should be taken in accepting the results due to the small numbers of patients involved in the study and the non- randomised assignment of patients within the study, the results of the study demonstrate a clinically significant reduction in anxiety levels in each of the three relaxation interventions compared to the control group. ii/ The study demonstrated good study validity due to the case of implementation, the unambiguous results generated, and the use of already validated anxiety interventions and measurement tools.