Evaluation of the effects of foot reflexology massage on vital signs and chemotherapy-induced anxiety in children with leukemia

Background: Cancer is a common disease among children. One of the most important treatment methods in this regard is chemotherapy, which leads to anxiety and negative physiological reactions in patients. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of foot reflexology massage on vital signs and chemotherapy-induced anxiety in children with leukemia.

Methods: This clinical trial was conducted on children with leukemia (aged 6-12 years), undergoing chemotherapy in the oncology center of Kerman, Iran in 2015. In total, 120 children were selected through convenience sampling and randomly allocated to three groups of 40 samples. Intervention was performed in the form of a 20-minute session of foot reflexology massage for the intervention group and simple massage for the placebo group before the injection. Vital signs and anxiety levels were estimated immediately before and after the intervention using the vital sign record form and observation scale of behavior distress (OSBD). Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 16 using Kruskal-Wallis test, Chi-square, Wilcoxon test, Mann-Whitney U, and Spearman’s correlation coefficient.

Results: In this study, heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, respiratory rate, body temperature (P<0.0001) and anxiety level (P=0.003) significantly decreased in the intervention group after the intervention. However, this significant reduction was only observed in the systolic blood pressure (P<0.0001), heart rate (P<0.0001), respiratory rate (P=0.009) and anxiety level (p<0.0001) of the placebo group. In contrast, systolic (P<0.03) and diastolic blood pressure (P<0.0001) significantly elevated in the control group after the intervention.

Conclusion: According to the results of this study, foot reflexology massage could be applied as a non-pharmacological method to reduce anxiety and improve vital signs in children with leukemia during chemotherapy.