The effect of chair massage on stress perception of hospital bedside nurses

This study supports the findings of Katz et al. (1999) in showing that massage therapy can be effective in reducing stress perception in nurses within the hospital setting during the course of the workday, at least in the short-term. Since stress has been linked to burn-out (Keane et al., 1985) as well as decreased productivity (McLeroy et al., 1984) and increased absenteeism (Seamonds, 1983), the use of stress reducing interventions might prove to be worthwhile investments on nursing floors not only for the present but for future staffing management. With the nursing shortage predicted to increase over the next decade as baby boomer nurses retire and this age group population predicted to require greater healthcare services, it seems that measures to support nurses would be beneficial. Further study on the longer term effects of chair massage in the workplace setting on stress perception for nurses would be helpful as well as the effects on absenteeism and productivity. Chair massage has been shown to positively affect alertness and math computations (Field et al., 1996). Could this, then, translate into decreased nursing errors, enhanced patient care, and overall increased job satisfaction for hospital bedside nurses? There are implications here for study with other workplace populations who are in stress-loaded jobs, such as traffic control operators, physicians, medical residents, police officers, firefighters, and military personnel.Given the number of nurses who were able to take the time to participate in the study, it also supports the feasibility of providing this as an alternative to a standard break time during a shift. The 85% participation rate does reflect, however, the unpredictability of hospital bedside nursing. Many of those who were not able to participate, although they had signed up to do so, were faced with patient care responsibilities at the time of their scheduled session. One example of this occurred on the first day during the 1st shift hours on the maternity floor when there were two emergent cesarean sections scheduled sequentially, which pulled staff from post-partum and the nursery as well as those in labor and delivery. Such is the nature of the work in a hospital setting. Would the participation rate increase if chair massage were offered on a frequent basis for a long period of time such that it became a routine part of the workday or would it not be utilized? Further research is warranted to study the feasibility of providing chair massage on a regularly scheduled basis on a nursing unit as well as its impact on other aspects of a nursing position, such as, job satisfaction, retention, absenteeism, injury, and worker's compensation claims. Additionally, it would be beneficial to study the effects of chair massage with individuals in other occupations that are identified as being high stress and burnout occupations.