A Simplified Tea Ceremony Experience for Palliative Care Staff: A Feasibility and Acceptability Study

TL;DR

A simplified Japanese tea ceremony was tested as a stress-reduction tool for palliative care staff, showing it's feasible and acceptable with some anxiety reduction.

Contribution

This study explores a novel, culturally informed intervention for palliative care staff stress using a simplified tea ceremony.

Findings

100% recruitment and retention rates showed the tea ceremony was feasible for palliative care staff.

Participants reported decreased state and trait anxiety scores after the tea ceremony.

Qualitative feedback highlighted themes of ritual immersion, sensory calmness, and positive distraction.

Abstract

Background: Palliative care staff experience high occupational stress, yet brief, culturally informed interventions remain underexplored. The Japanese tea ceremony integrates ritual, mindfulness elements, and sensory engagement, but its feasibility and acceptability in healthcare settings are unknown. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of implementing a simplified tea ceremony intervention for palliative care staff, and to explore participants' subjective experiences to inform future controlled research.

Methods: Ten palliative care staff members from a single institution participated in a 20-minute simplified tea ceremony. Feasibility was assessed through recruitment and completion rates. Acceptability was evaluated through qualitative feedback, while changes in psychological state were descriptively assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) administered pre- and post-intervention. Descriptive statistics characterized pre-post changes in self-reported anxiety; no inferential statistics were used, as this study was not designed to test efficacy hypotheses.

Results: Recruitment and retention were 100%, indicating feasibility. Mean state anxiety scores decreased from 51.5 (SD=7.0) to 44.2 (SD=6.9), while trait anxiety decreased from 46.8 (SD=6.7) to 43.7 (SD=5.9). Qualitative feedback revealed three themes: immersion in ritual (8/10 participants), sensory calmness (9/10 participants), and positive distraction (10/10 participants). Two participants noted discomfort with formality.

Conclusion: A simplified tea ceremony is feasible and acceptable for palliative care staff. Participants reported positive subjective experiences and temporary reductions in self-reported anxiety. However, this study provides no evidence regarding the tea ceremony's specific therapeutic efficacy, as the design cannot distinguish its effects from rest, attention, or expectancy. Randomized controlled trials comparing the tea ceremony to active and passive control conditions are needed.