Evaluation of a Nurse-Led Auricular Therapy Intervention for Palliative Care Patients

Palliative care seeks to reduce symptom burden and stress for patients with serious illness, and complementary, nonpharmacologic approaches may improve comfort and patient empowerment. The authors retrospectively evaluated a nurse-led auricular acupressure program for patients with cancer receiving palliative care to assess its feasibility, tolerability, and symptom response. Palliative care registered nurses provided auricular acupressure to adult patients for cancer-associated symptoms in the inpatient and outpatient settings after completing specialized training, with didactic and hands-on components. The medical records of the first 200 patient visits for auricular acupressure from June 1, 2023, to February 28, 2024 were reviewed. The primary symptom of concern was identified, and symptom severity was recorded immediately before and after treatment using an 11-point Likert scale. Complete preintervention and postintervention data were available for 101 patients. Across symptoms, postintervention scores improved, with the most notable reductions observed for pain. Adverse effects were minimal. Patient comments described meaningful symptom relief, improved functioning, and decreased reliance on medications. Nurses reported that the workflow was feasible within routine practice and viewed the program as sustainable. Auricular acupressure appears to be a valuable, noninvasive adjunct for symptom management in palliative care. Prospective studies with larger samples are needed to confirm effectiveness and to characterize durability and longer-term outcomes.