BACKGROUND: Soft tissue massage is currently used in palliative care for the relief of anxiety and pain. Only few studies have focused on patients' deeper experience of receiving the massage.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to explore how patients with cancer in palliative home care experienced soft tissue massage.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-two patients received soft tissue massage (hand or foot) nine times over a period of 2 weeks. Each session lasted for 25 min. Following the last massage session, a qualitative interview was conducted. The analysis was performed using a hermeneutic approach.

FINDINGS: Soft tissue massage generated feelings of existential respite with perceptions of being released from illness for a while. Two categories constituted the basis of the experiences: (1) "an experience of thoughtful attention" and (2) "a sensation of complete tranquility" resulting in the overarching theme "A time of existential respite."

CONCLUSION: The patients experienced the massage to give meaning and to be important as it generated feelings of an inner respite.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Soft tissue massage appears to be an appreciated source of support to dying patients in palliative home care. The method is easy to comprehend and relatively short (25 min) which may imply that it is a suitable complement in nursing care for this patient group.

AIM AND OBJECTIVES: This article explores relatives' experiences of receiving soft tissue massage as a support supplement while caring for a dying family member at home. BACKGROUND: In palliative home care, relatives play an important role as carers to seriously ill and dying family members. To improve their quality of life, different support strategies are of importance. Complementary methods, such as soft tissue massage have become an appreciated supplement for these patients. However, only few studies focus on relatives experiences of receiving soft tissue massage as a supplemental support. DESIGN: Qualitative design METHOD: Nineteen relatives received soft tissue massage (hand or foot) nine times (25 minutes) in their homes. Open-ended semi-structured tape-recorded interviews were conducted once per relative after the nine times of massage, using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: Soft tissue massage gave the relatives' feelings of 'being cared for', 'body vitality' and 'peace of mind'. For a while, they put worries of daily life aside as they just experienced 'being'. During massage, it became apparent that body and mind is constituted of an indestructible completeness. The overarching theme was 'inner power, physical strength and existential well-being in their daily lives'. CONCLUSION: All relatives experienced soft tissue massage positively, although they were under considerable stress. Soft tissue massage could be an option to comfort and support relatives in palliative home care. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: In palliative nursing care, soft tissue massage could present a worthy supplement in supporting caring relatives.

Aim and objectives.  This paper explores how bereaved relatives experienced soft tissue massage during the first four months after the death of a family member who was in palliative cancer care.

Background.  Death of a close family member or friend is recognised as being an emotional and existential turning point in life. Previous studies emphasise need for various support strategies to assist relatives while they are grieving.

Design.  Qualitative design.

Method.  Eighteen bereaved relatives (11 women and seven men) received soft tissue massage (25 minutes, hand or foot) once a week for eight weeks. In-depth interviews were conducted after the end of the eight-week periods. Interviews were analysed using a qualitative descriptive content analysis method.

Results.  Soft tissue massage proved to be helpful and to generate feelings of consolation in the first four months of grieving. The main findings were organised into four categories: (1) a helping hand at the right time, (2) something to rely on, (3) moments of rest and (4) moments of retaining energy. The categories were then conceptualised into this theme: feelings of consolation and help in learning to restructure everyday life.

Conclusions.  Soft tissue massage was experienced as a commendable source of consolation support during the grieving process. An assumption is that massage facilitates a transition toward rebuilding identity, but more studies in this area are needed.

Relevance to clinical practice.  Soft tissue massage appears to be a worthy, early, grieving-process support option for bereaved family members whose relatives are in palliative care.

OBJECTIVE: Increasing awareness of well-being aspects of physical touch has spurred the appreciation for soft tissue massage (STM) as part of palliative care. Educational programs are available but with no specific focus on utilization for this kind of care. The aim was to study the feasibility of a 1-day course in STM in clarifying nursing staff's experiences and opinions, but also to shed light on their motivation and ability to employ STM in the care of dying cancer patients. METHOD: In all, 135 nursing staff participated. The course consisted of theory and hands-on training (hand-foot-, back massage). Focus-groups with 30/135 randomly chosen participants were conducted 4 weeks after the intervention. This study engaged a qualitative approach using content analysis. RESULTS: The overall opinion of the 1-day course was positive. The majority experienced the contents of the course to be adequate and sufficient for clinical care. They emphasized the pedagogical expertise as valuable for the learning process. The majority of nurses shared the opinion that their extended knowledge clarified their attitudes on STM as a complement in palliative care. Still, a few found it to be too basic and/or intimate. Three categories emerged during the analysis: experiences of and attitudes toward the education, experiences of implementing the skills in every-day care situations, and attitudes to the physical body in nursing care. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: The approach to learning and the pedagogical skills of the teacher proved to be of importance for how new knowledge was perceived among nurses. The findings may encourage hospital organizations to introduce short courses in STM as an alternative to more extensive education.