Iranian Journal of Rehabilitation Research in Nursing

Introduction: Sleep disorder is one of the most important problems in elderlies and massage is one of the non-invasive techniques that can help to eliminate problems such as anxiety, stress, depression, pain and insomnia through reducing the muscle tension. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of back massage (effleurage) on sleep quality in elderlies suffering from sleep disorders.

Methods: This quasi-experimental study was carried out by randomized clinical trial (RCT) method. The research community included all the male seniors living in Luqman nursing home of Bandar Abbas. Sampling was performed in two stages using census method and balanced randomization. Finally, 93 participants were chosen according to the criteria of the study and were assigned into three equal groups: control group, intervention group 1 and intervention group 2. Data gathering was performed by the use of Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index and Abbreviated Mental Status and data analysis was done by one-way ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, U Mann-Whitney test, paired t-test, Wilcoxson, co-variance analysis, and Bonferroni post-hoc test, using SPSS 17 software.

Results: Analysis of the data showed that there were statistically significant differences in mean score in all the subscales of sleep quality, except for sleep disorders subscale, between both intervention groups and the control group (P < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the mean score of intervention group 1 (10 minutes of massage) and intervention group 2 (20 minutes of massage.(

Conclusions: This study confirmed the effect of Effleurage massage on sleep quality of elderlies, but increasing the massage duration did not result in the improvement of sleep quality. It is suggested that Effleurage massage be taught to caregivers of elderlies to be used in necessary situations as a useful, healthy and non-pharmacological treatment in elderly sleep disorder.