Impact of An Educational Session about Foot Reflexology on Nursing Students’ Knowledge and Attitude: A Quasi Experimental Study

Abstract

Introduction: Reflexology is a part of alternative medicine. Researches done around the world indicate the physiological and psychological positive benefits of foot reflexology. There are no courses about foot reflexology in nursing colleges and there are no researches done in Saudi Arabia about awareness of foot reflexology. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of foot reflexology awareness session on nursing students’ knowledge and attitude.Method: A quasi-experimental design was used to collect the data from a convenience sample of 41 female senior nursing students in king Saud bin Abdul-Aziz university for health science in Riyadh city. Two tools were developed to collect the data: knowledge assessment and opinion regarding foot reflexology questionnaire and evaluation sheet for the educational session. The educational session conducted in 40 minutes. Validity and reliability the questionnaire were ensured.Results: Forty-one students were included (30 level 7 and 11 level8). Mean age was 21.61 (±, 703) years and the majority of the student 68.3% did not hear about foot reflexology. There were significant differences regarding all topics included in the knowledge assessment tool (p=. 000). The mean and standard Deviation of overall knowledge in post-tests result (51.66±2.19) was higher compared to pre-test result (46.88±4.48). Regarding students' opinion of foot reflexology, the result revealed that 58.5% on a pre-test of nursing students agreed that therapeutic touch is an integral part of nursing profession whereas 92.7% agreed on post-test. Majority of the participants 63.4% believe in the effect of foot reflexology on the pre-test and 85.4%on post-test.Discussion and Conclusion: This study revealed that knowledge level in the post-session was high and better than in pre-session. Also, it showed that the participants’ attitude toward foot reflexology changed after the session.

Keywords: Foot Reflexology, Awareness Session, Knowledge Level and Attitude