28

This literature review explores what is currently known about hypnosis and its added value for people living with advanced cancer. Today, cancer is the second leading cause of death in the world. The consequences of this chronic disease are diverse and the care of this population is complex. Palliative care aims to prevent and relieve suffering by improving the quality of life of patients and their loved ones. Several methods have been developed, including complementary and integrative medicine, which give an important place to the care of the person as a whole. Hypnosis being one of the most documented methods today, its effects represent a real interest to improve nursing care. The theory of Martha Rogers brings a unitary vision of the care which aims at accompanying the person to the achievement of his well-being as she defines it. The objective of this work is to review the literature on the effects of hypnosis on pain in people living with cancer.Based on the formulation of the research question, two databases are used: Pubmed and CINAHL. Search equations were constructed based on the main key concepts: hypnosis, pain, cancer and nursing. Inclusion and exclusion criteria filter the selection of evidence to answer the research question in a targeted manner. To explore the effect of hypnosis on pain in its broadest sense, both quantitative and qualitative specifications are selected. Nine articles of varying levels of evidence support and provide some recommendations for good nursing practice.Three main themes were identified: symptom management, well-being and quality of life, and the care relationship. The results conclude that there is an improvement in total pain;benefits for the quality of life of the person and his or her environment;and the importance of the care relationship in potentiating these effects. However, the articles have various limitations and the limited number of studies carried out on hypnosis to date does not allow us to obtain exclusively articles with a high level of proof, adequate measurement instruments and a rigorous research methodology.This literature review highlights that hypnosis has several beneficial effects for the individual and his or her well-being. This non-pharmacological care intervention provides a transformative approach to nursing care through a care relationship based on the patient’s wishes. This complementary approach is a recommended resource in palliative care to alleviate the person’s suffering and allow them to live comfortably. Further studies should be conducted in the future to obtain conclusive findings in order to further develop this approach in other care settings.