The effect of foot reflexology on fatigue severity in patients undergoing hemodialysis treatment Download PDF

Purpose and aim: Fatigue is one of the most common side effects, which is known to be a major stressor and a debilitating complaint. This study aimed to study the effect of sole reflexology on fatigue severity in patients undergoing hemodialysis. Methods: This study was a clinical trial, conducted on 52 patients undergoing hemodialysis in the Dialysis Center, Imam Khomeini Hospital in Zabol city in two experimental (26 patients) and control (26 patients) groups. Information-gathering was through a demographic questionnaire and fatigue severity investigation. After completion of the questionnaire by the subjects, foot reflexology was performed by a trained researcher for the experimental group for two 30 minute sessions per week during 5 weeks. Fatigue severities in both groups were evaluated again at the end of the third and fifth weeks. Data were analyzed using independent t-test, chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test, and analysis of variance with two-sided repeated measures. Findings: In this study, means of fatigue severity score in patients undergoing hemodialysis in the test group before and after foot reflexology, showed a significant difference; also, two-sided analysis of variance with repeated measures showed there is significant difference after intervention in terms of the intensity of fatigue between the two groups (p<0.001). Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, reflexology, which is a low-cost and safe method, significantly reduces fatigue in patients treated with hemodialysis.