J Korean Biol Nurs Sci.  2016 Feb;18(1):51-59. 10.7586/jkbns.2016.18.1.51.

Effects of a Footbath Program on Heart Rate Variability, Blood Pressure, Body Temperature and Fatigue in Stroke Patients

• Son YL
• Yoo MS

• KMID: 2173180
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.7586/jkbns.2016.18.1.51

Abstract

PURPOSE
This study was to examine the effects of a footbath program on heart rate variability, blood pressure, body temperature and fatigue of stroke patients with stroke-induced hemiparesis.
METHODS
A non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used. Participants were 40 stroke patients, twenty for the footbath program and twenty for the control group, who were hospitalized in a long-term rehabilitation hospital in G city of Korea, from February to April 2014. The twenty participants in the experimental group received the intervention of footbaths and an educational program focused on the prevention of stroke complications; Collected data were analyzed by the IBM SPSS WIN 20.0 program using a t-test, chi2 test, Mann-Whitney U test and repeated measures ANOVA.
RESULTS
Significant differences were found in heart rate variability, systolic blood pressure, hand and foot temperatures and fatigue between the two groups. But no significant differences were found in diastolic blood pressure, core temperatures, forehead temperatures, and hand temperatures between the two groups.
CONCLUSION
The footbath program was an effective intervention for skin temperature change and fatigue reduction for stroke patients. Therefore, it is recommended that the footbath program can be utilized as an effective nursing intervention for stroke patients in long-term rehabilitation care hospitals.

Keyword

Foot; Heart rate; Body temperature; Fatigue; Stroke

MeSH Terms

Blood Pressure*
Body Temperature*
Fatigue*
Foot
Forehead
Hand
Heart Rate*
Heart*
Humans
Korea
Nursing
Paresis
Rehabilitation
Skin Temperature
Stroke*