Poster Presentation

Thursday, July 12, 2007
9:30 AM - 10:15 AM

Thursday, July 12, 2007
3:15 PM - 4:00 PM
This presentation is part of : Poster Presentation II
Effects of Foot Reflexzone Massage on State-Anxiety and Discomfort in Ovarian Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy
Euy Soon Choi, MSN, PhD, College of Nursing, The Catholic University of Korea Songeui Campus, Seoul, South Korea and Yang Sook Yoo, RN, PhD, School of Nursing, Catholic Univ, Secho-ku, seoul, South Korea.
Learning Objective #1: The learner will be able to investigate the effects of foot reflexzone massage on state-anxiety and discomfort of ovarian cancer patients receiving chemotherapy
Learning Objective #2: The learner will be able to apply the foot reflexzone massage as a nursing intervention to patients with anxiety and discomfort receiving chemotherapy

Purpose: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of foot reflexzone massage on state-anxiety and discomfort of ovarian cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Method: A quasi experimental design with a non equivalent control group and non synchronized design was used. The subjects consisted of 40 patients admitted to C University Hospital. Twenty subjects were assigned to the experimental group and received foot reflexzone massage everyday for 3 days. The other 20 subjects were in the control group and received routine care. Foot reflexzone massage was done on both feet of the subjects for 30 minutes for 3 days using standard protocol. The 'State-Anxiety Inventory' developed by Spielberger was used to measure the degree of state-anxiety. Discomfort was assessed using the 'Symptom Distress Scale' of McCorkle and Young. Data was analyzed by a SAS program using t-test, Wilcoxon signed rank sum test and Wilcoxon rank sum test. Results: State-anxiety and discomfort of subjects receiving foot reflexzone massage were significantly lower than those of th e control group. Conclusion: These findings indicate that foot reflexzone massage could be an effective nursing intervention for relieving state-anxiety and discomfort in ovarian cancer patients.