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Effects of Hand Massage and Therapeutic Touch on Comfort and Anxiety Living in a Nursing Home in Turkey: A Randomized Controlled Trial

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Abstract

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.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge all the residents of the nursing home for their cooperation.

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This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Fundamentals Nursing, Ege University Nursing School, 35000, Izmir, Turkey

    Şebnem Çınar Yücel & Hazel Bagci

  2. Department of Fundamentals Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Karamanoglu Mehmetbey University, 70000, Karaman, Turkey

    Gamze Goke Arslan

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  1. Şebnem Çınar Yücel
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  2. Gamze Goke Arslan
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Correspondence to Gamze Goke Arslan.

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Yücel, Ş.Ç., Arslan, G.G. & Bagci, H. Effects of Hand Massage and Therapeutic Touch on Comfort and Anxiety Living in a Nursing Home in Turkey: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Relig Health 59, 351–364 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00813-x

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