Conference Proceedings - School of Nursing & Midwifery - Trinity ...

School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin: 8 th Annual Interdisciplinary Research Conference
Transforming Healthcare Through Research, Education & Technology: 7 th – 9 th November 2007
Conference Proceedings
obtained. Any questions they had were answered. Participants were
given a gift basket containing massage oil, a CD of relaxing music
and a phone card so t hey could call the researchers for any
problems or questions.
The sample consisted of 11 female caregivers ranging in age from
29 to 74. Over half the sample was from minority populations. Two
caregivers cared for a child; five cared for a husband or significant
other, and four for a mother with one of said four caring for a father
as well. Three provided personalized care for their relative in a LTC
facility and the remainder lived with the person for whom they
provided home care. Five of the caregivers were employed outside
of the home. The massage recipients had a variety of chronic
conditions including kidney failure, muscular dystrophy, chronic
obstructive lung disease and diabetes, severe arthritis, and seizure
disorder. One massage recipient suffered from bipolar disorder a
chronic mental rather than physical health condition.
Protocol
The study protocol consisted of caregiver administration of gentle
massage too their chronically ill loved one as often as it was
convenient for a four-week period. One participant was only able to
provide the intervention for her elderly mother for two weeks
because shortly after she enrolled in the study her mother was
admitted to hospice care and died two weeks later. None of the
other 10 participants were able to provide the massage daily, but
most provided it several times per week and maintained a simple
log detailing the dates of administration.
Following the intervention period one of the researchers revisited
the caregivers individually to re-administer the Brief POMS and
conduct a brief tape recorded interview. This semi-structured
interview was guided questions designed to determine caregivers’
reactions to participating in the study and providing the
intervention and to obtain their perceptions of the massage
recipients’ reactions to obtaining the intervention.
Analysis
Data consisted of demographic information, results of the pre and
post intervention Brief POMS, and interview results.
The POMS data were used in two ways: First, pre and post
intervention results were analyzed as an aggregate to determine
whether group inferences could be made despite t he small sample
size. Secondly, individual results were used to inform results of
individuals’ perceptions about participating in the study and
administering the intervention obtained from the interviews.
Interview transcripts were analyzed using a constant comparison
method. Results were informed by demographic data obtained.
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