Effect of Neonatal Massage on Weight Gain and Physical Responses among Preterm Babies in Selected Hospital in Fujairah, United Arab Emirate. (Published)
Background: The prevalence of preterm birth in UAE has increased to around 10 per cent of all deliveries in the UAE. Preterm neonates are more prone to complications; achieving optimal weight is one of the factors that affect the length of hospital stay which is taking into consideration in the discharge of preterm infants from the hospital. Aim: To assess the effect of neonatal massage on the weight gain and physical responses among preterm neonates in Fujairah hospital. Methods: This study is a quasi-experimental design in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Forty three neonates who met the inclusion criteria, were divided into two groups of experimental (n = 24) and control (n = 19) selected using consecutive sampling. Both groups received routine care, the experimental group received the massage for 15 minutes daily for 10 days, Results: Male neonates were (58.1%) than female (41.9%), the percentage birth weight in the control group was 1- 1.5kg (58.3%) while it was 1.5-2.0 kg (41.7%) in the experimental group. Neonatal massage showed a positive effect of 266.68 grams at the end of 10 days of study, the experimental group gained between 143.3g-266.67g (54.1%) while the control group gained between 20g-143.33g (15.7%), it significantly improved physical responses (Heart Rate and Respiratory Rate) with P value below (<0.05) level while there was no statistically significant differences in the temperature, oxygen saturation and body activity Conclusion: Neonatal massage has significant difference in weight gain, improved heart and respiratory rate while no significant effect in the temperature and oxygen saturation. The study recommends that, neonatal massage should form part of the routine care for preterm neonates to increase the weight and other responses which will shorten the length of stay in the hospital and prevent neonatal morbidity and mortality
Keywords: Massage, Weight, neonate preterm, physical responses
The Effect of Therapeutic Massage on the Pain of Cancer Patients (Published)
As people with cancer disease, beyond the side effects of treatments, uncertainties regarding the future, suffering, physical pain, anxiety, depression, loss of control and autonomy. The nurse must interact with how people, inserted in their sociocultural context, who are in a situation of health / illness transition. The intervention instituted in the present work was a therapeutic massage, due to the help to restore the physical and psychic balance. The application of massage and the maintenance of hygiene care and comfort and development, as well as the application of the complementary practice to the strategy of self-care and harmonization. We designed a quasi-experimental study whose objective is to evaluate the effect of therapeutic massage on mental health in a sample of 31 cancer patients, 16 in the experimental group and 15 in the control group. The selection criteria of this study considered research on this theme, so that we can have models of comparison of results. Therefore, the inclusion criteria were patients aged between 18 and 65 years old, included in an outpatient clinic, with a medical diagnosis of cancer and with a cognitive ability to self-fill the questionnaires. For this the Mini Mental State Examination Scale was applied. There are some pathologies, signs and symptoms in which this intervention is contraindicated, namely: Patients with circulatory problems, varicose veins; inflammatory or fungal processes; fever or hyperthermia; on treatment with chemotherapy; post-surgery, post-radiotherapy, post-stroke or post-myocardial infarction; bone pathology (fractures, recent torsion); hypertension; hemophiliacs; localized contagious or dermatological diseases. For the operation of the independent variable, a therapeutic massage protocol recommended by Tiffany Field and Hernandez-Reif was used, and to evaluate the dependent variable, we used the Brief Pain Inventory, which revealed good internal consistency. This study revealed a beneficial effect of therapeutic massage with regard to pain, we showed a significant improvement in pain intensity (p <0.001) and pain interference (p <0.001). We intend with this study not only that health professionals use this intervention, as well as that these results encourage the scientific community, in the conduct of future research in this pathology and in other chronic pathologies.
Keywords: Cancer, Massage, Mental Health, Pain, Therapeutic Massage