Purpose
This study was conducted to verify the effects of foot bathing on peripheral neuropathy, sleep disorder, and fatigue in gynecologic patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy. Methods: There were 30 participants in this study who had been diagnosed with gynecologic cancer and were undergoing chemotherapy. Among them, 15 were in the experimental group of the K university hospital and 15 in the control group of the other K university hospital in D city. The experimental group received foot bathing once a day for 30 minutes over 10 days, an hour before bedtime, while the control group did not receive any foot bathing. Results: The results of the study showed that the experimental group that received foot bathing had significant changes in objective peripheral neuropathy (p=.021), sleep disorder (p=.002), and fatigue (p=.030), as compared to the control group. However, no significant difference was found between the experimental and the control groups regarding subjective peripheral neuropathy (p=.256). Conclusion: Hence, our study confirmed that foot bathing can be an effective nursing intervention to reduce peripheral neuropathy, sleep disorder, and fatigue in gynecologic patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy.

Citations

• The impact of peripheral neuropathy symptoms, self-care ability, and disturbances to daily life on quality of life among gynecological cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy: a cross-sectional survey
  Sohee Mun, Hyojung Park
  Korean Journal of Women Health Nursing.2022; 28(4): 296.     CrossRef