Comparing the Effect of Acupressure and Foot Reflexology on Anxiety and Depression in Hemodialysis Patients: A Clinical Trial

Background: Depression and anxiety are common problems with multiple complications in hemodialysis patients. Objectives: This study aimed to compare the effect of acupressure and reflexology on anxiety and depression in hemodialysis patients. Methods: A clinical trial was carried out on 60 patients who had referred to the Special Patients Clinic, Zabol, between January and March 2017. Patients were randomly divided into three groups, acupressure group (n = 20), reflexology group (n = 20), and control group (n = 20). Data collection tools included the Spielberger State-Trait anxiety inventory (STAI) and the Beck depression inventory-II (BDI-II). Data were analyzed in SPSS-19 using descriptive and analytical statistics. Results: Before the intervention, there was no significant difference between the three groups in terms of depression (P = 0.051) and anxiety (P = 0.11). The comparison of the mean scores of depression and anxiety between the three groups after the intervention revealed a significant difference between the three groups in terms of both variables (P < 0.001). Statistical analysis indicated that the depression and anxiety scores differed significantly after the intervention between the two experimental groups and the control group (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The results demonstrated that acupressure and reflexology could have positive impacts on mitigating the patients’ depression and anxiety. Thanks to the ease of application, these methods can be used by nurses to reduce anxiety and depression in patients undergoing hemodialysis.