The effects of foot reflexology upon pain, anxiety, and patient satisfaction among patients having undergone open-heart surgery

Abstract

This interventional study was conducted to analyze the effects of foot reflexology intervention upon patients having undergone an open-heart surgery on their pain, anxiety, and satisfaction level. This research was conducted with 70 patients having undergone open-heart surgery in the cardiovascular surgery clinic of a Turkish hospital. Thirty-five patients were assigned to a test group, and 35 patients were assigned to a control group. In this research, patients in the test group were reported to have a statistically significant decrease in the mean scores of the visual analog scale when compared with the scores of patients in the control group (p<0.05). Although no statistically significant difference (p>0.05) was measured between the mean scores of the state-trait anxiety inventory and the visual analog scale of patient satisfaction completed by patients in the test and control groups, it was also noted that both groups were exceptionally satisfied. The findings of this research can be utilized to alleviate pain, lessen patients' anxiety levels during the post-operation phase, and elevate patient satisfaction levels.

Keywords

• anxiety
• cardiac surgery procedure
• pain
• patient satisfaction reflexology
• pre-operative nursing

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