title: The effects of slow-stroke back massage on minutes of nighttime sleep in persons with dementia and sleep disturbances in the nursing home: a pilot study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This pilot study tested the effects of a 3-minute slow-stroke back massage (SSBM) on total minutes of nighttime sleep on persons with dementia with sleep disturbances aged 65 years or older in the nursing home.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pilot randomized controlled trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were randomized to an intervention group (n = 20) who received the 3-minute SSBM or a usual care control condition group (n = 20) who received usual bedtime care. Forty-eight hours of actigraphy data was recorded and analyzed on sleep variables at baseline and postintervention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Descriptive statistics showed a 36-minute increase on minutes of nighttime sleep in the SSBM intervention group (46.1 minutes) compared with the control group (10.32 minutes). Analysis of covariance did not reveal significant differences between the intervention and control groups on minutes of nighttime sleep, F(1, 37) = 1.90, p = .18, partial η(2) = .05, or on other sleep variables.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dose-finding studies are needed to determine the duration of SSBM for sleep promotion. Findings from this pilot study suggest that SSBM may be an effective nursing intervention for sleep in persons with dementia in the nursing home, but further testing is needed to provide definitive results.
authors.affiliation: Harding University Carr College of Nursing, Searcy, AR 72149-2265, USA. mharris4@harding.edu
authors.forename: Melodee
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: Kathy Culpepper
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Richards
authors.forename: Victoria T
authors.initials: VT
authors.lastname: Grando
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001415:Back; D003704:Dementia / Q000451:nursing*; D005260:Female; D005851:Geriatric Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008405:Massage; D009735:Nursing Homes; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000451:nursing* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D015144:Southeastern United States; D016896:Treatment Outcome