The purpose of this study is to test: 1) the efficacy of therapeutic back massage (TBM) as a method to reduce stress associated with negative change in natural killer cell activity (NKCA) in spouses of cancer patients; 2)whether TBM positively influences psychophysiologic factors in spouses of cancer patients experiencing stress; 3)to gather preliminary data to use in future studies on psychosocial factors relative to NKCA. TBM is a systematic form of touch that manipulates soft tissues of the body to promote relaxation. Interventions that induce relaxation have had a positive effect on NKCA in healthy adults. This experimental mixed design will utilize 2 groups (intervention, no-intervention) X 3 times (pre-intervention, post-intervention, 20 minutes post-intervention) with six measures (mood, perceived stress, HR, SBP, DBP, NKCA) repeated at the three time points to examine the effects of TBM in spouses of lung cancer patients (N=48). Measuring the outcomes of nursing interventions is critical to the growth of the nursing profession in health care today.
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