The Effects of Foot Reflexology Massage on Sleep and Fatigue of Elderly Women

Jin, Su Jin; Kim, Yeong Kyeong

Abstract

PURPOSE
To investigate the effects of foot reflexology massage on sleep and fatigue of elderly women. METHOD: The study was performed from April thru July of 2004 on the nonequivalent control group non-synchronized quasi-experimental design. Fifty elderly women were selected for each group. The foot reflexology massage was performed for 45 minutes every three days for experimental group. The data were analyzed using the Cronbach's alpha, Chi-Square test, t-test and Repeated measures ANOVA and Bonferroni. RESULT: 1. The sleep score of the experiment group is significantly higher than that of the control group(t=-5.944, p=.000). 2. For the experiment group, it is seen that the sleep score increases as the frequency of the foot reflexology massage increases(F=96.362, p=.000). 3. The fatigue score of the experiment group is significantly lower than that of the control group(t=4.356, p=.000). 4. For the experiment group, the fatigue is relieved gradually as the frequency of the foot reflexology massage increases(F= 118.444, p=.000). CONCLUSION: Based on the results described above, it is considered that the foot reflexology massage is effective for elderly women in promoting a good sleep and relieving the fatigue.