Reflexology: recent research approaches.

The intention of this paper is to examine recent published research in the field of reflexology and healthcare and consider the way forward for research work in reflexology. It will explore the various research approaches and methods, which have and could be used in answering questions about reflexology practice and outcomes for patients. The recommendations of the Foundation for Integrated Medicine Report (FIM 1997) with regard to conducting research and audit will be included in the paper. These are proposed here as a framework for both reviewing past studies and as guidance for future reflexology investigations. The authors themselves have conducted small reflexology studies and they will reflect on their experiences in analysing the research process. This paper does not aim to give a concise review of the literature to date but uses examples of recently published work to illustrate the issues that might confront researchers.

'Just the ticket': case studies, reflections and clinical supervision (Part III).

An earlier paper in this series of three has detailed the background development and organization of a pilot complementary therapy service. The setting was a neuroscience ward with existing staff carrying out the treatments. Outcome measures including physiological indices and patient feedback were reported on in Part II (Dryden et al. 1999). This paper will now focus on both the records of the practitioner's reflections and the recurring themes of their monthly clinical supervision sessions. Subgroups of four patients with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) are discussed in detail, as they received the most number of treatments between them.

'Just the ticket': the findings of a pilot complementary therapy service (Part II).

In part I of this series of articles (Dryden et al. 1998) the authors detailed the background to a project offering hand and foot massage incorporating reflexology techniques. The following paper reports back on the findings and evaluation. Over a 4-month period a total of 61 recorded treatments were given to 18 in-patients. Each session was to last approximately 30 minutes and included recordings of physiological data as well as pre- and post comments from the patient. The six practitioners, who were already working within the ward setting in various capacities, were asked to record reflective comments after each treatment. This paper will conclude by discussing future recommendations. Part III of this series (CTNM 5: 2, 1999) will focus on a subgroup of patients within the study highlighting the experiences of both practitioners and patients.

'Just the ticket': integrating massage and reflexology in practice (Part I).

The purpose of these papers is to describe and discuss the piloting and evaluation of an inpatient complementary therapy service. This was a single site case study without a control group and involving practitioners themselves collecting data, recording reflections on their own practice and engaging in monthly clinical supervision sessions. The service was aimed at providing treatments of hand and foot massage incorporating reflexology techniques for a total of 18 patients. In part 2 of this paper, an evaluation of the project will be presented including the findings of this pilot service from the perspective of both the patients and practitioners, and the analysis of some of the physiological data collected. Part 3 will focus on a subgroup of the patient cohort to illuminate the experience from both patient and practitioner perspective.