Effectiveness of hot water foot bath therapy on level of fatigue and insomnia among patients undergoing hemodialysis at selected hospital in Mangaluru

Abstract

Background: Chronic kidneydisorders are currently observed in 40 to 60 percent of cases in India [1].Chronic renal failure commonly causes fatigue and sleeplessness. Patientsundergoing hemodialysis also experience these symptoms. A hot water footbath,which warms the skin and promotes vascular dilation, may help reduce fatigueand insomnia. Aim: This study aims toevaluate the effectiveness of Hot Water Foot Bath Therapy in alleviating thesesymptoms among hemodialysis patients at a hospital in Mangaluru. Methods: The impact of a hotwater footbath on the fatigue and sleep quality of haemodialysis patients wasevaluated using a quasi-experimental design. The sample included 40 eligiblepatients, with 20 in the intervention group and 20 in the control group, selectedthrough purposive sampling. Data collection involved a sociodemographicquestionnaire, the Piper Fatigue Scale to measure fatigue, and the AthensInsomnia Scale for insomnia assessment, both before and after the intervention.  Results: The study resultsshows that the mean pre-test score of fatigue and insomnia was reduced on the10th day of posttest. It was concluded that hot water footbaththerapy was effective in reducing fatigue and insomnia with the calculated pvalue 0.001***.