The Effect of Footbath on Sleep Quality of the Elderly: A Blinded Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

Introduction: The progressive increase in the elderly population of developing countries has drawn attention to their health. Sleep Pattern and quality can affect life quality in old people. We need more documents about footbath (a non-invasive method). The purpose of this research was to examine footbath on sleep quality of the elderly. Methods: This study is a blinded, randomized, clinical trial on 46 old men that had health documents in health center, 2013. Participants in the research were divided into two groups. One group had footbath (experimental group) and another group did not have footbath (control group). The experimental group participants were asked to put their feet in warm water (41-42 ºC) for 20 minutes before sleeping for 6 weeks. The co-researcher completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) before and after the intervention by individual interview. Data were analyzed by SPSS software. Results: The comparison of changes in sleep quality score the old men showed the sleep duration and total sleep quality has significantly improved in the experimental group. Conclusion: According to the study results, the maximum effect of footbath was on sleep latency and sleep duration disturbances. In this study, the researchers had limited access to the elderly in Tabriz; therefore, it is recommended that future research be conducted in a higher number of health centers.

Keywords: Sleep, Elderly, Footbath