Effect of hand massage on pain and anxiety in patients after liver transplantation: A randomised controlled trial

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the effects of hand massage on postoperative pain, and anxiety levels in liver transplant patients. Methods: This study was a randomised clinical trial. The study sample comprised 80 adult patients who had liver transplantation: 40 experimental and 40 control group. In the experimental group, the researcher performed hand massage. No treatment was performed in the control group. To analyse the data, descriptive statistics, a chisquared test, a t-test for dependent groups, and a t-test for independent groups were used. Results: According to hand massage follow-ups after liver transplantation, the mean scores of pain intensity and anxiety levels was lower, with a statistical significance in the experimental group compared with the control group in all measurements before and after hand massage (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The hand massage applied to liver transplant patients positively affected and decreased the severity of pain, and anxiety levels.