ResearchOnline@JCU This file is part of the following reference: Wicking, Kristin Edith Grantham (2012) A randomised controlled trial of the effects of the energy-based complementary therapy of healing touch on the functional health status of community-dwelling single older women. PhD thesis, James Cook University. Access to this file is available from: http://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/38394/ The author has certified to JCU that they have made a reasonable effort to gain permission and acknowledge the owner of any third party copyright material included in this document. If you believe that this is not the case, please contact [email protected] and quote http://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/38394/ A randomised controlled trial of the effects of the energy-based complementary therapy of Healing Touch on the functional health status of community-dwelling single older women Submitted November, 2012 to the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Nutrition For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at James Cook University by KRISTIN EDITH GRANTHAM WICKING Student Identification Number: 11706210 RN, BSN, MSN, Grad Cert Ed (Tert Tchg) Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing, San Jose State University, California Master’s of Science in Nursing, San Diego State University, California Graduate Certificate in Education (Tertiary Teaching), JCU, Townsville Principal Supervisor: Professor Anne Gardner Co-Supervisor: Associate Professor Petra Buettner Associate Supervisor: Associate Professor David Lindsay Research Student Monitor: Dr. Alan Hauquitz 1 Signed Statement of Access I, the undersigned author of this work, understand that James Cook University will make this thesis available for use within the University Library and, via the Australian Digital Theses network. I understand that as an unpublished work, a thesis has significant protection under the Copyright Act and I wish this work to be embargoed until 28 February 2014. 1'3~//-/.2_ Signature Date 2 Signed Statement of sources DECLARATION I declare that this thesis is my own work and has not been submitted in any form for another degree or diploma at any university or other institution of tertiary education. Information derived from the published or unpublished work of others has been acknowledged in the text and a list of references is provided. Every reasonable effort has been made to gain permission and acknowledge the owners of copyright material. I would be pleased to hear from any copyright owner who has been omitted or incorrectly acknowledged. 1 '3 ~11-1 .2_ Signature Date Declaration On Ethics Human Ethics This research presented and reported in this thesis was conducted in accordance with the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Huma'n Research, 2007. The proposed research study received human research ethics approval from the JCU Human Research Ethics Committee Approval Number H 3077, from the Townsville Health Service District Approval Number 35/08; and from Spiritus/Anglicare Approval Number EC00341:2009:02. 1'3~//-/.2_ Signature Date 3 Statement on the contribution of others Data collection support: Ms. Leah Hart and Ms. Ylona Chun Tie Data entry support: Ms. Helen Wright Statistical support: Associate Professor Reinhold Mueller, a biostatistician at JCU, assisted with statistical consulting to determine sample size during the proposal stage of the project. Later statistical support during the design of the data entry template and during data analysis was provided by his colleague, a fellow biostatistician also at JCU, and co-supervisor for the dissertation, Associate Professor Petra Buettner. Financial support: James Cook University Women in Research Award: 2007--$2,000. James Cook University Graduate Research Scheme: 2009--$2930. 2010--$3,000. 2011--$500. James Cook Industries Proprietary Ltd: 2009--$6,000. 2010--$14,000. 2011--$10,000. Australian Foundation for Healing Touch, Inc Mentgen-Brandreth Scholarship: 2010--$1,000. 2012--$1,000. Editorial support: Paid editorial assistance was provided by the desktop publishing services of Miss Organisation http://www.missorganisation.com.au/ in accordance with the Institute of Professional Editors’ Guidelines for editing research theses posted on the James Cook University Graduate Research School website at: http://www.jcu.edu.au/grs/public/groups/everyone/documents/guide/jcuprd1_073667.pdf Services rendered included the following: Document styles and formatting only. 4 Dedication I dedicate my doctoral dissertation to Muriel F. Wicking, my mother-in-law, who provided us with a stellar example of healthy ageing in action. She inspired me to explore how to help other older Australian women to remain as functionally independent as she did, so they too can enjoy being ‘90-something’ as thoroughly as she enjoyed it. She was an icon, at home and abroad: at the Caulfield race course in Melbourne and cruising all over the high seas on the Queen Elizabeth II. Thank you Muriel, for showing the rest of us just how much fun healthy ageing really can be... 5 Acknowledgements There are so many people to thank, but all of the rest of them combined cannot hold a candle to my amazing husband, John Roderic Wicking. Without his support, forbearance, wisdom and humour, I would have faltered and fallen long before completing this project. From the mundane practicalities like buying milk and cooking dinner, to the more esoteric support of patiently listening and offering sage advice during endless discussions about my only topic of conversation for six years, he was my rock. I can never repay him for all the times he had to launch the boat without me, or for all the opportunities for travel and fun that we missed while I was busy seeing clients, crunching numbers and typing tomes......but that won’t stop me from trying. To my parents, Ken and Barbara Grantham, for teaching me at a young age that reading opens up the world to you, and that scholarly achievements are just as cool as sports trophies. To my mentor in Healing Touch, Dr. Rosalie Van Aken, for wisely and patiently answering my questions about the more subtle nuances of providing Healing Touch treatments for clients, and for supporting my conviction in the holism that is possible when all research paradigms are honoured, both qualitative and quantitative. To my supervisory team, who guided me through a long and twisting pathway, all the way to the end, nudging me back on track when necessary and pointing the way when I was lost. To Professor Mary FitzGerald, my first principle supervisor, for fanning the spark in the beginning stages and getting me through the proposal stage and past a successful confirmation seminar before she relocated to Tasmania. To Professor Anne Gardner, my original co-supervisor and second principal supervisor, for stepping in to the lead role and seeing it through to the end. Thank you for being on the other end of the phone with the straight answers to curly questions during the long intervention stage, thus keeping field work from becoming the lonely struggle that can defeat researchers. And thank you for all the hours of talking, reading, commenting and questioning that have helped to shape the dissertation in to only a single volume.... To Associate Professor Petra Buettner, for making statistics not only make sense to me, but also be enjoyable; for guiding me through the maze of SPSS and for checking my work so thoroughly that I was able to sleep at night after all. Thank you for the wise and even witty remarks on all those SPSS files flying through the ether. To Associate Professor David Lindsay, for graciously joining my supervisory team when there was yet another vacancy on it, for being a role model of a persistent, tenacious doctoral researcher in my early years at the School, and for the understanding and wise counsel that can only be provided by someone who has been down the road ahead of me. To my research team, who made it all possible, and sometimes even fun! Their dedication, conscientiousness and work ethic made this project happen, and made it keep happening until it was finally done. 6 To Leah Hart, who was there from the first baseline data collection home visit for the first pilot study patient in September of 2008, and was still there a mammoth 350 home visits and nearly three years later for the last data collection on the 166th patient. Thank you Leah, for caring about the project so passionately, and for hanging in there during all the cyclones that blew through both our lives during this study. To Ylona Chun Tie, who stepped in to the breach and kept the momentum going with her huge log of 150 data collection home visits, persevering in this project despite embarking on big and brave new adventures of her own. Thank you Ylona, for that unflagging support and your profound confidence in my ability to finish, even when I wasn’t sure it was particularly well founded. To Helen Wright, who entered voluminous amounts of data in to SPSS, with a commitment to precision and accuracy that earned her my undying admiration. Thank you Helen, for sharing my love of numbers and for that shared sense of curiosity about what research can help us discover, as it is that curiosity that transforms nurse clinicians into nurse researchers. To my three Heads of school.....I guess I should accept that my project has gone on for too long when it has spanned three different Heads of School! To Professor Kim Usher, for letting me pursue my passions, both in topic and in methodology, and for encouraging me to focus on testing a nursing intervention to build our discipline-specific body of knowledge. To Associate Professor David Lindsay, for the kind and encouraging words spoken after my confirmation seminar, and for the myriad other more practical ways he encouraged and supported me during the lengthy intervention phase, while I relentlessly pursued the holy grail of an adequate sample size for an RCT.