Effects of stroke massage using sesame oil on hospitalization anxiety in school-age girls

Ba ckground and Hospitalization anxiety can result in mental، behavioral، developmental، cognitive، and psychobiological health disorders. A method to reduce anxiety is massaging that can decrease pain and anxiety. Considering the high rate of school-age children hospitalization and the contradictory results of studies، this study aimed to examine the effects of stroke massage on hospitalization anxiety in school-age girls in 2010. In this clinical trial study، 80 school-age girls aged 9-12 years were selected through convenience and sequential sampling and randomly divided into two groups (40 in the massage group، and 40 in the control group). The tools included a demographic questionnaire and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC). Content validity was used to assess the validity of the demographic questionnaire and the validity of the STAIC was evaluated by content and facial validity. Reliability of the inventory was measured by Cronbach''s alpha as 0. 93 for the trait scale and 0. 97 for the state scale. In the intervention group، stroke massage was applied for as long as 15 to 20 minutes three times a day for three days using sesame oil. Hospitalization anxiety was surveyed before sleeping on the second to the fourth days of hospitalization and before and after the three-day period on the second and fifth days of hospitalization. The data were analyzed in SPSS (version 16) using independent t test and chi-square at α =0. 05. Results showed significant differences between means of state anxiety differences in the groups from the second to the fifth days (p<0. 05). Means of state anxiety on the second to the forth، second and fourth، and third to fourth days showed different results. Results showed that stroke massage of hospitalized children had an effect on state anxiety during the three-day period. However، it was not significantly effective in reducing state anxiety on a daily basis so that massage effectiveness varies during the three-day time span.