¶ … Therapeutic Massage on Elderly, Grieving Widows
The prosperity of a country is in accordance with its treatment of the aged," states an ancient Jewish Proverb ("Massage for the Mature Adult," 2001). This is an honorable and true statement. Too often many of our elderly people's needs are not noticed or attended to by family, friends, or medical practitioners. This is especially true for older women whose husbands have died.
Widowhood can have a tremendous impact on the health of older women (Ferraro, 1989; Bowling, 1987; Gass & Chang, 1989). The death of a spouse or partner has been described as the most disruptive and difficult role transition that an individual confronts throughout the life course (Lopata, 1987). In the United States, over 49% or 8.4 million women over the age of 65 are widows (Bradsher, 2000). Houdin (1993) states that "although the literature abounds with subjective pieces concerning bereavement, little is known about the complex biological processes that follow in its wake. However, there is a growing body of evidence that suggests psychological distress may compromise immunocompetence and that support strategies may enhance immune functioning." Houdin comments further about the data from his study which indicates that women who had a strong family group with whom she could interact daily and by whom she could be hugged and appropriately touched, had a smaller incidence of opportunistic diseases and lower occurrence psychological problems such as grief-induced depression. He concluded that there were two key factors without which the outcome would have been markedly different: living in the midst of a supportive familial group and having appropriate skin to skin contact with another person frequently. The key factor appears to be the touch of another human being. Studies which address the necessity of interaction and touch for an infant's physical and psychological health abound, and the pictures of the hollow-eyed babies in the nurseries linger in our minds. "Failure to thrive" can kill an infant. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the same needs and consequences exist at the opposite end of the life cycle.
Among the numerous life changes a widow must undergo, one of the most personal, but most needed is the opportunity to touch another person. While this may mean touching in a sexual situation, it also means the need for touch that all humans crave (Ott & Seffanie, 1998). Several studies have documented the positive effects of therapeutic touch on stress, anxiety, wound healing, and the qualitative lived experience of individuals (Kreiger, Peper, & Ancoli, 1992; Gagne, & Toye, 1997). Other studies and the experiences of those in clinical practice suggest that therapeutic touch decreases autonomic nervous system arousal and reduces stress or anxiety (Sneed, Olson & Bonadenna,(1997).
The purpose of this descriptive research study is to compare and contrast the responses on the Geriatric Depression Scale of recently widowed women (age 65 and older) who have received a 30 minute massage from a trained massage therapist three times per week for at least three months with those of the same age and marital status who have not received massage therapy
It is thought by this researcher that the level of stress or depression will be significantly lower in the experimental group (those who had massage therapy for at least three months),
Chapter Two
Review of the Relevant Literature
The follow questions will frame this review of relevant literature: 1) for the purposes of this study, what is a widow; 2) what are the possible medical outcomes of being widowed; 3) what are depression and anxiety and what is their placement in the grieving process; and 4) what effects on the body do massages have?
What is a widow?
A widow is one whose spouse has died within the past 18 months (Websters New Collegiate Dictionary, 2000). Widows become widows the moment their spouse ceases to live. Kelly (1971), has identified a number important factors that shape the bereavement experiences of women.
The largest portion of research on widowhood has focused on the personal and social consequences that accompany the loss of a spouse. The physical symptoms of grief: sighing, sobbing, crying, and weeping are common and normal physical signs of grief. Some psychological studies show that these forms of feeling are necessary physical release of stress and sadness mechanisms. Stress and sadness that are not relieved arise in other physical effects such as: not being able to pay attention to present experience, lack of concentration, poor memory, disrupted sleep patterns, little or no appetite, abusing drugs or alcohol, and/or thoughts of suicide.
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