Hand Massage and Play Activity in the Elderly

Overview

There is no study found that examined the effects of hand massage and play activity on the loneliness, comfort and psychological well-being of the elderly in nursing homes. This study was planned as a pretest-posttest randomized controlled dual center study in order to examine the effects of hand massage and play activity on loneliness, comfort and psychological well-being in the elderly. 60 elderly people living in two nursing homes in Mersin city center will form the sample of the study. The sample will consist of three groups as hand massage group, game activity group and control group. The data were using the "Elderly Information Form", "Standardized Mini-Mental Test", "Loneliness Scale fort he Elderly", "General Comfort Scale", "Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale", "Hand Massage" and "Play Activity (Jenga) will be collected. Hand massage group will be applied hand massage for 20 minutes for four weeks; the game activity group will play Jenga (game activity) for one hour a week. The control group will receive the institution's standart of care. Frequency, number, mean, Student's test and/or Mann-Whitney U test, ANOVA and/or Kruskal-Wallis test, Chi-square test and/or Correlation Analysis will be used in the analysis of the data. As a result of this research, the effects and benefits of hand massage and play activity on the loneliness, comfort and psychological well-being levels of the elderly living in nursing homes will be determined, and it is anticipated that these effects and benefits will be included in evidence-based guidlines.

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Be in the age range of 65-84 years
2. Being literate
3. No visual or hearing impairment
4. Ability to communicate verbally
5. Loss of sensation in the hand, arthritis, phlebitis, inflammation, eczema and fracture, etc. absence
6. Absence of any finger or limb loss
7. A score of 25 and above on the Standardized Mini Mental Test
8. Not having been diagnosed with a mental illness such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's or major depression
9. Staying in a nursing home for at least three weeks
10. Agreeing to participate in the research

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Being 85 years or older
2. Having sensory problems in the hands
3. Having hand and nail deformities
4. Having an open wound or burn on the hands
5. Loss of limbs in fingers
6. Don't have neuropathy