ABSTRACT: Purpose: This study was done to verify the effects of foot reflexology on the self-esteem and vitality of elders. Method: A non- equivalent control group pre- and post-test design was used. Research instruments to measure self-esteem and vitality were used in this study. The participants were elderly women hospitalized in a hospital in Okcheon County, Chungbuk Province, Korea. The 18 patients in the experimental group performed 40 minutes of foot reflexology per time for a total of 12 times over two weeks, and the 18 patients in the control group received regular care only. Before and after the experiment, both groups were tested for self-esteem and vitality. Frequencies, percentages, -test, t-test and Mann-Whitney U test with the SPSS/WIN 10.0 program were used to analyze the collected data. Results: Vitality of the elderly women patients improved significantly in the experimental group. However self-esteem did not increase significantly. Conclusion: Foot reflexology is effective as a nursing intervention in improving the health of elders.
Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing. 01/2009; 16(1).
You can read the pdf paper in Korean here
http://ocean.kisti.re.kr/downfile/volume/kafn/GBGHC1/2009/v16n1/GBGHC1_2009_v16n1_39.pdf
ABSTRACT: This study was to examine the effects of self-foot reflexology on stress, fatigue and blood circulation in premenopausal middle-aged women. A quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group, pretest-posttest design was used. Participants were 59 premenopausal, middle-aged women in their 40s and 60s living in G city: 30 in the experiment group and 29 in the control group. Data were collected from May to August 2008. Self-foot reflexology was performed three times a week for 6 weeks for 40 min at each session. The results showed that self-foot reflexology was effective in reducing perceived stress and fatigue and helped blood circulation in premenopausal middle-aged women. Self-foot reflexology may be an effective nursing intervention in reducing perceived stress and fatigue and in improving blood circulation.
Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing 10/2009; 39(5):662-72. · 0.36 Impact Factor
You can read the pdf paper in Korean here
http://synapse.koreamed.org/Synapse/Data/PDFData/0006JKAN/jkan-39-662.pdf
The Effects on Aromatherapy and Foot Reflex Massage on the
Cognition, Anxiety, Aggressive Behavior and Wandering Behavior
of Elderly with Dementia
Abstract This study aims to evaluate the effects of aromatherapy and a foot reflex massage program on the
cognition, anxiety, aggressive behavior, and wandering behavior of elderly with dementia. The research design
was a non-equivalent control group, quasi-experimental study where 43 subjects were divided into two groups.
Aromatherapy and foot reflex massage was administered to the experimental group (N=21), and no treatment
was administered to the control group (N=22). The data was analyzed using the χ2-test, t-test, while the
repeated measures of ANOVA were utilized with the SPSS/Win 18.0 program. The experimental group did not
show significant differences in cognitive function; however, it showed significant differences in anxiety,
aggressive behavior, and wandering behavior in relation to the control group. Thus this research suggests
aromatherapy and a foot reflex massage program as nursing intervention to improve the quality of life of
elderly with dementia.
http://ocean.kisti.re.kr/downfile/volume/dpm/DJTJBT/2013/v11n12/DJTJBT_2013_v11n12_495.pdf
ABSTRACT: Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a combination program of meridian massage and foot reflexology on stress and natural killer (NK) cell activity in adults. Methods: This study is a quasi-experimental research usingone-group-pretest-posttest design. The subjects of the study were 42 adults in T city. Stress level was assessed with systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, pulse rate, and serum cortisol level. The data were analyzed by SPSS/WIN 17.0 program with descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The period of this study was from January 4 to July 11 of 2008. The program was performed three days per week, two hours per session. Results: The degrees of perceived stress were significantly different while objective stress levels were partially different between pre-and post-program. The NK cell activity did not show a significant difference between before and after the program. Conclusion: This study suggests that combination of meridian massage and foot reflexology may be an optional nursing intervention to reduce subjective and objective stress in adults.
Journal of East-West Nursing Research. 01/2010; 16(2).
