PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of aroma foot reflexology massage on mood states specifically depression and brain waves of elderly women with osteoarthritis. METHODS The study was a nonequivalent control group non-synchronized design. The participants were 62 elderly women with osteoarthritis. The instruments were the Korean-Profile of Mood States-Brief for mood states and 8-channel EEG (Electroencephalogram) system for brain waves. Data were collected from March to May, 2012. Twenty-six participants were assigned to the treatment group and twenty-six to the comparison group. The data were analyzed using SPSS/WIN 17.0 version program, and included descriptive statistics, t-test, and ANCOVA. The intervention was conducted three times a week for two weeks. RESULTS There were significantly improvement in reported depression. s. Brain waves (EEG) increased significantly in F3, T3 of alpha wave and in F4, T3, and P4 of beta wave between the two groups. CONCLUSION Aroma foot reflexology massage can be utilized as an effective intervention to decrease depression of mood states, increase of alpha, and beta brain wave on woman elderly with osteoarthritis.
PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of aroma foot massage and reflexology on sleep, depression and problem behaviors on elderly with dementia. METHODS The study was a none equivalent control group pre-post test quasi-experimental design. The participants were 62 elderly with mild mentia. Using a coin toss, 31 participants were assigned to the experimental group and 31 to the control group. The aroma reflex foot massage comprised of aroma foot massage and foot reflexology. The intervention was conducted twice a week for six weeks. RESULTS There were significant differences in reported sleep and depression between the two groups. However, the issue of problem behaviors was not significant. CONCLUSION Aroma reflex foot massage can be utilized as an effective intervention for sleep and depression in conjunction with drug therapy for the management of elderly with mild dementia.