Author: Yücel ŞÇ1, Arslan GG2, Bagci H1
Affiliation: <sup>1</sup>Department of Fundamentals Nursing, Ege University Nursing School, 35000, Izmir, Turkey.
<sup>2</sup>Department of Fundamentals Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Karamanoglu Mehmetbey University, 70000, Karaman, Turkey. gamze.goke@gmail.com.
Conference/Journal: J Relig Health.
Date published: 2019 Apr 13
Other:
Special Notes: doi: 10.1007/s10943-019-00813-x. [Epub ahead of print] , Word Count: 159
This study was carried out to investigate the effects of hand massage and therapeutic touch on comfort and anxiety in the elderly living in nursing homes. The study was designed as a randomized controlled, experimental study (with a pre- and posttest control group). The study population comprised 255 older people aged 65-89 living in a nursing home in Izmir, a province in Turkey. The study sample included 30 older patients, who were assigned to hand massage (HM) (n = 10), therapeutic touch (TT) (n = 10) and control (C) (n = 10) groups. Of the elderly who participated in the study, 50% were female and 80% were single. It was determined that TT and HM decreased the anxiety and increased the comfort levels of the elderly living in the nursing home (p < 0.05). It is thought that nurses can easily integrate HM and TT which are non-medical, non-pharmacologic interventions with no adverse effects into care activities.
KEYWORDS: Anxiety; Comfort; Hand massage; Therapeutic touch
PMID: 30982141 DOI: 10.1007/s10943-019-00813-x