The effects of sleep hygiene education and reflexology on sleep quality and fatigue in patients receiving chemotherapy

Abstract

Introduction: This study was conducted to determine the effects of sleep hygiene education and reflexology on sleep quality and fatigue in the patients receiving chemotherapy.

Methods: The sample of the study consisted of 167 patients (84 in the experimental and 83 in the control group). The data were collected between October 2016 and November 2017 using an Introductory Information Form, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS).

Results: The mean -test score from the PSQI was 5.5 ± 2.1 for the experimental group and 13 ± 2.4 for the control group. The mean post- test score from the FSS was 22.6 ± 1.9 for the experimental group and 41.0 ± 4.2 for the control group. The difference between the mean scores of the groups was statistically significant (p = 0.000).

Conclusion: The patients receiving chemotherapy had lower mean scores from the PSQI and the FSS while they had increased sleep quality and decreased fatigue after sleep hygiene education and reflexology.

Keywords: chemotherapy; nurse; reflexology; sleep hygiene education.