Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care

Korean Society for Hospice and Palliative Care (한국호스피스완화의료학회)
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The Effects of Aroma Foot Baths on Stress and Sleep in Terminal Cancer Patients

  • Kim, Bok Soon (Department of Nursing,Gil Medical Center, Gachon University College of Medicine) ;
  • Chae, Sun Hwa (Department of Nursing,Gil Medical Center, Gachon University College of Medicine) ;
  • Hwang, In Cheol (Department of Family Medicine, Gil Medical Center, Gachon University College of Medicine)
  • Received : 2021.01.07
  • Accepted : 2021.03.19
  • Published : 2021.06.01
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Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effects of aroma foot baths on stress and sleep in terminally ill cancer patients. Methods: We performed a non-randomized intervention-control study with 30 terminal cancer patients who were admitted to a palliative care unit. Participants responded to questionnaires on stress and sleep before and after a 5-day interval. The intervention group received a daily aroma foot bath for 5 days. We performed multivariate regression analysis to examine the changes in outcomes on stress and sleep for the intervention group compared to the control group. Results: The differences in baseline characteristics between groups, excluding subjective economic status and general weakness, did not show statistical significance. In contrast to the control group, the intervention group showed a statistically significant change in physical stress and psychological stress levels, but significant changes were not observed in quality of sleep. Compared to the control group, the intervention group showed a significant reduction in physical stress (P=0.068) and psychological stress (P=0.021). Conclusion: Aroma foot baths are effective for reducing stress in patients hospitalized with terminal cancer.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

The authors thank the participants who bravely shared their experiences. This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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