Effects of massage therapy of asthmatic children on the anxiety level of mothers

BACKGROUND: Asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood and its prevalence is increasing all over the world. Asthma influences on many aspects of family daily life. Health care of children with chronic asthma can have deep impact on health and welfare of the family members. Studies showed a relation between the life quality of children suffering from asthma and the anxiety level of parents. These parents are looking for ways to confront with their stress, to reduce their anxiety in encountering with their asthmatic children, and to improve their performance. This research was accomplished with the aim of determining the influence of massage therapy on anxiety level of mothers with asthmatic children. METHODS: This was a quasi-experimental study with two groups and a pretest and posttest design. The samples of research were 60 mothers of 5-14 year-old asthmatic children who were under treatment in medical centers of Isfahan. They were randomly divided into two groups of control and massage therapy by convenience sampling method. The data were collected by standard Spielberger questionnaire. Mothers of massage group were trained to massage head, neck, face, shoulder, hand, leg, and back of their children every night before bedtime for one month while there was no intervention for the control group during this month except the standard treatment. In both groups, the Spielberger standard questionnaire was filled by mothers. The data were analyzed by descriptive analysis, independent t-test, paired-t test, and chi-square test. RESULTS: The results showed no significant difference in mean anxiety level between the two groups before the intervention but there was a significant difference between them after intervention (p < 0.03). Also, there was a significant difference in mean level of anxiety score of mothers before and after the intervention in massage group (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The anxiety level of mothers can be reduced by effective utilization of daily child massage therapy and giving an active role to the mothers in caring and treating the child. Daily massage helped mothers to have more sense of participation in caring their children and as a non-pharmacological method can be accompanied with pharmacological methods.