• Eran Ben-Arye, Emanuela Portalupi, Yael Keshet, Massimo Bonucci, Gulbeyaz Can, Yolanda Kading, Noah Samuels, Maria Livas, Orit Gressel, Michael Silbermann, and Thomas Breitkreuz.
• Integrative Oncology Program, Lin, Zebulon & Carmel Medical Centers, Clalit Health Services, Haifa, Israel; Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel; Middle East Research Group in Integrative Oncology (MERGIO), Middle East Cancer Consortium, Haifa, Israel. Electronic address: eranben@netvision.net.il.
• J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021 Feb 1; 61 (2): 229-236.

ContextManual and movement therapies (MMTs) play a central role in the integrative oncology setting, significantly improving patients' quality of life (QOL). Despite research supporting the effectiveness and safety of these modalities, most oncology health care providers (HCPs) lack any MMT training.ObjectivesIn this study, we examine the impact of an MMT-based integrative oncology training program with the participation of an international and multidisciplinary group of oncology HCPs. The feasibility of implementing these skills in palliative cancer care is examined.MethodsA three-day evidence-based hands-on teaching program was designed to train oncology HCPs working in supportive cancer care MMT modalities from traditional Chinese and anthroposophic medicine. Prequalitative and postqualitative assessments of the trainees' narratives were analyzed using ATLAS.Ti software (Scientific Software Development GmbH, Berlin, Germany) for systematic coding.ResultsThe training program was attended by 30 participants from Israel (15), Germany (7), Italy (6), Turkey (1), and Cyprus (1). The group included 13 nurses, 10 physicians, 6 complementary/integrative HCPs, and 1 psycho-oncologist. The pretraining expectations that were met at post-training included gaining knowledge and practical QOL-oriented skills, which could be implemented in the palliative and supportive care setting. A significant change in the attitude of trainees to touch therapy was also identified, with respondents seeing MMTs promoting patient-centered palliative care, including nonverbal communication.ConclusionAn MMT training program for oncology HCPs for QOL-related indications is both feasible and likely to be implemented in palliative and supportive cancer care. Nonspecific effects of MMTs were also recognized for their ability to facilitate patient-centered care.Copyright © 2020 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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