JOURNAL OF RELIGION AND HEALTH, cilt.59, ss.351-364, 2020 (AHCI)
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.
Keywords Hand massage · Therapeutic touch · Comfort · Anxiety