Effects of Sensory Stimulation Therapy on the Improvement of Growth and Behavioral Development for Instituted Infants / 아동간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of sensory stimulation therapy on the physical growth and behaviors of infants accommodated at two Korean orphanages. METHOD: Thirty-eight full term infants were assigned to a control (n=20) or an experimental (n=18) group within 14 days of birth. In addition to routine orphanage care, infants in the experimental group received 15 minutes of massage twice a day, 5 days a week for 4 weeks. RESULT: Compared to the control group, the experimental group had gained significantly more weight and had larger increases in length and head circumference after the 4-week intervention period. In addition, the experimental group showed significantly better behavioral performance in the scoring of habituation (e.g., light), motor (e.g., motor maturity), and state range (e.g., peak of excitement, rapidity of build-up) behavioral clusters of Brazelton's NBAS. CONCLUSION: These data demonstrate that sensory stimulation therapy may facilitate the physical and behavioral development of the newborn infants placed in the orphanages.

Effect of Massage Therapy on Growth Parameters of Instituted Infants / 아동간호학회지

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of massage therapy on weight gain, length and head circumference in instituted infants. This study utilized nonequivalent control group with repeated measuring by quasi experimental design. Fifty eight instituted infants in Daejeon city were selected for the study. Fifty eight infants were randomly assigned two groups, one served as the control group and the other was experimental group to whom massage therapy was given. For the experimental group, massage protocol(developed by Field, 1986) was applied 2 times a day, mid-morning and early evening, for 4 weeks for each infants by researcher and trained research assistants. As a weight weighing instrument, electronic indicator scale (Cas Co., Korea) was used. The result of this study were summarized as follows; 1.A repeated measures ANOVA identified a significant group by time effect over the four weeks of intervention(F=14.69, p < .0001). Infants assigned to experimental group gained more weight than control group infants. 2. T-test identified that significant differences in length(t=2.60, P=.013) and head circumference(t=4.27, P=.000). Infants assigned to experimental group had more length and head circumference than control group infants. In conclusion, Massage therapy improved weight gain, length and head circumference of instituted infants. Therefore, it is recommended to utilize massage therapy as a nursing intervention for instituted infants.