Effect of Warm Foot Bath on Fatigue among Diabetic Older Adults

Fatigue is one of the most common causes of disability in most elderly people affected with diabetes. Considering the growing population of this group, the present study aimed to determine the effect of warm foot bath on the fatigue of the elderly people with diabetes.

The randomized clinical trial study was carried out on 66 elderly diabetic patients who had referred to the Diabetes Research Center in Yazd. Eligible participants were selected by convenience sampling and randomly divided into two experimental and control groups. Participants of the experimental group performed a warm foot bathing for 20 minutes during two weeks. The Piper Fatigue Scale was completed in three steps (at the beginning of the study, two and four weeks after intervention). Data were analyzed by SPSS software, using ANOVA for repeated measures, independent t-test, Chi-Square and Fisher exact test.

The mean ± standard deviation of fatigue in the three phases of evaluation in the experimental group was 5.91 ± 0.81, 4.80 ± 1.19, 4.55 ± 1.57 and in the control group was 5.95 ± 0.97, 6.06 ± 1.13 and 5.79 ± 1.33, respectively. The difference in the mean of fatigue scores in both groups after the intervention was significant (p < 0.001).

Revealing the positive effects of warm foot bathing, this method, as a non-pharmacological and easy-to-use method, is recommended to improve fatigue condition in the elderly patients with diabetes.