Foot Massage for Women With Menopause
Condition: Menopausal Women
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      This study will be carried out to determine the effect of foot massage applied to menopausal
      women on anxiety, fatigue and sleep levels. This randomized controlled study will be
      conducted with 70 women (35 experimental, 35 control) residing in a village in northern
      Turkey. In the study, women in the experimental group will be given foot massage once a day
      for 7 days. No intervention will be applied to the women in the control group. Research data
      will be collected using "Personal Information Form", "Fatigue Severity Scale" and "Beck
      Anxiety Inventory". Descriptive statistics (number, percentage distribution, median and
      Q1-Q3), chi-square test, Mann Whitney-U test and Wilcoxon test will be used in the analysis
      of the data.
    

Detailed description: 
      The population of the study was planned to be composed of menopausal women residing in a
      village in the north of Turkey. Menopausal women residing in the village were reached from
      the records of the health unit of the participants. The number of people to be included in
      the sample of the study was determined by power analysis. G*power 3.1.9.2 program was used in
      the study. According to the calculations made, the minimum sample size of the study was 0.40,
      the error level was 0.05, and the population representativeness was 0.95 to 64 women (32
      experiment, 32 control). Considering the possible data losses (10%), 70 women (35
      experimental, 35 control) were planned to be included in the study. It was planned to include
      women who are literate, open to communication, and have naturally entered menopause in the
      last 1 year. The data are planned to be collected by the researchers through face-to-face
      interviews at the homes of menopausal women residing in a village in northern Turkey between
      01-30 November 2021.

      Experimental group Menopausal women in the experimental group will be met at the first
      interview at their home, the participants will be informed about the method and their written
      consent will be obtained. Pre-test data will be obtained by filling in the personal
      information form, "Fatigue Severity Scale" and "Beck Anxiety Inventory" before the foot
      massage. The same researcher will plan to give women a foot massage once a day for 7 days. It
      is anticipated that the foot massage application will take a total of 20 minutes on both
      feet. On the last day (7th day), 30 minutes after the foot massage, FSS and BAI will be
      applied again and the final test data will be obtained.

      Control group Menopausal women in the control group will be met at the first interview at
      their homes, the participants will be informed about the method and their written consent
      will be obtained. It will be planned to obtain the pre-test data by filling in the "Fatigue
      Severity Scale" and "Beck Anxiety Inventory". No intervention will be applied to the women in
      the control group. A second home visit will be made one week after the pre-test data are
      received and the post-test data will be obtained.

      The initiative will be implemented by an internationally certified research midwife academic
      (N.G.) after a training on foot massage (16 hours). It is planned to create a quiet and
      comfortable environment at a room temperature of approximately 23-26 C, and to choose
      techniques that reveal the relaxing and calming effect of the massage. Thumb pressure
      application, slapping, patting, rubbing and squeezing movements will be applied for a total
      of 20 minutes, 10 minutes on each foot, at the same time every day for 7 days.

      To evaluate the fatigue and anxiety levels, pretest and posttest data will be obtained by
      applying FSS and BAI just before the first foot massage (day 1) and 30 minutes after the last
      foot massage (day 7).
    

Intervention name(s): Foot massage
Intervention type(s): Other
Intervention description(s): Foot massage is applied in the form of pressure, rubbing and stimulation with special hand and finger techniques to reflex - warning points corresponding to all regions, organs and systems in the body. It is applied by applying pressure to all reflex points in the area from the toes to the ankles.
In the study, a quiet and comfortable environment will be prepared at a room temperature of approximately 23-26 0C, and techniques that reveal the relaxing and calming effect of the massage will be selected. Thumb compression, slapping, patting, rubbing and squeezing movements are planned to be applied for a total of 20 minutes, 10 minutes on each foot, at the same time every day for 7 days.
Other intervention name(s): Reflexology
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Supportive Care
Keywords: Menopause; Fatigue; Anxiety; Sleep; Foot massage