Nurse-Administered Hand Massage: Integration Into an Infusion Suite’s Standard of Care

Background: Nurse-delivered hand massage is a safe and effective intervention that has potential for positively affecting nursing and patient outcomes.


Objectives: Nurses in a National Cancer Institute–designated academic health center outpatient chemotherapy infusion suite were taught how to administer a hand massage to strengthen the nurse–patient relationship and improve patient experience, comfort, satisfaction, stress, and anxiety.


Methods: A pre-/postimplementation group comparison design was used. Patients in both groups completed self-reported measures of stress, comfort, satisfaction, and anxiety. Nurses completed Likert-type scales pre- and postimplementation on the perceived benefits of hand massage to the patient and nursing practice, impact on patient anxiety, and preparation in providing a hand massage.


Findings: A positive trend was seen in all indicators. Patients who received a hand massage had a statistically significant improvement in comfort (p = 0.025) compared to those who did not. A statistically significant improvement was seen in all nurse indicators pre- to postimplementation.