THE EFFECT OF FOOT MASSAGE ALMOND OIL ON THE SEVERITY OF FATIGUE OF HEMODIALYSIS PATIENTS WHO REFERRED TO TEACHING HOSPITAL IN URMIA-2016

Chronic renal failure is a progressive, irreversible kidney disorder that causes
multiple complications and problems in these patients. One of themajor complaints among hemodialysis
patients that reported is fatigue. Today, due to side effects of drug treatments, treating patients has been
turned with non-pharmacological methods such as traditional medicine and massage therapy. So the aim
of this study was to evaluate the effect of foot massage with almond oil on the severity of fatigue in
hemodialysis patients.
Materials & Methods: In this clinical trial, 60 hemodialysis patients who referred to teaching hospitals
of Urmia in 2016 based on available sampling method was selected and randomly divided into two
groups: control (n=30) and intervention (n=30). In the intervention group, foot massage with almond oil
was conducted by researcher for two months and the control group were observed only. Data were
collected using a questionnaire before and after intervention. Data was analyzed using Chi square test,
independent t-test and paired t-test statistics and considered significant at p< .0.05
Results: Data analysis showed that the difference between the mean score of fatigue severity before the
intervention in the control group was 5.53±1.24 and in the intervention group was 6.06±0.76 which there
was no statistically significant difference between them (p> 0.06), But after the intervention, the mean
score of fatigue severity in the intervention group was 5.51±1.17 compared to the control group,
4.57±1.25 This decrease was statistically significant (p <0.001).
The mean fatigue score between the two groups before the intervention was not statistically significant
(p=0/06), but after the intervention (massage) the severity of fatigue in the intervention group compared
to the control group significantly reduced (p<0/001).
Conclusion: The findings from this study showed that foot massage using almond oil is effective in
reducing the severity of fatigue in hemodialysis patients, so the use of these methods to reduce of fatigue
in hemodialysis patients is recommended in the dialysis centers.