1Department of Nursing, Dongkang College 2College of Nursing, The Catholic University of Korea
Abstract
Purpose: To determine the type and degree of effect that a hot footbath has on sleep quality and fatigue level in older Korean adults. Methods: A non-equivalent control group quasi-experimental design was used. Fifty participants from a long-term care facility in Kwangju, South Korea, were randomly selected and assigned to two groups: experimental group (27 participants) and control group (23 participants). The participants in the experimental group received hot footbaths in a temperature-controlled water tub of $42^{circ}C$. They soaked their feet up to 20cm above the ankles for 30 minutes before going to bed for 3 nights. Actigraphy was used to measure their sleep patterns. The data were analyzed using the SAS program. Results: After the intervention, the total sleep satisfaction rate of the participants increased, while sleep latency and fatigue decreased significantly in the experimental group compared to the control group. Conclusion: The study results suggest that hot footbaths are beneficial for older Korean adults in enhancing sleep quality as well as reducing fatigue. Therefore, hot footbaths are recommended as a nursing intervention to improve sleep quality and to reduce fatigue in older Korean adults.
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