Abstract

BACKGROUND: Chronic bronchitis is a major disease in the developing country which is associated with severe chest pain making effective management of its pain very important to nurses. Many researches have been conducted on the effectiveness of massage in pain management but none has reported its effectiveness in managing chest pain in patient with chronic bronchitis especially when combined with hot compress. MATERIAL AND METHOD: This was a quasi-experimental study to assess the effectiveness of the combination of therapeutic chest massage with hot compress in the management of chest pain in chronic bronchitis. A total of 34 patients were involved in this study. This study was conducted within one week among in-patients who were newly admitted to the pulmonary ward. Due consent was gained from the patient after extensive explanation had been made. Each patient’s pre-intervention pain levels were assessed with a scale. Hot compress was applied to each participant’s chest early in the morning for 15 minutes followed by therapeutic massage to the chest. Their post intervention pain levels were assessed based on their perceived change in pain levels on the same scale. Participants’ pre and post-intervention pain levels were analyzed and chi square test of independence ( post hoc test) was used to assess the difference between the pre-intervention and post-intervention pain levels (critical value = -1.96). Chi square test was also conducted to test for difference between the pre and post intervention pain levels as well as test for a relationship between the post-intervention pain levels and their smoking status. P value <0.05 was considered significant. RESULT: Findings showed a significant difference existing between the pre intervention chest pain levels and post intervention chest pain level at χ2 (p value) of 17.944 (<0.001). A significant reduction of chest pain after the intervention was reported by participants. CONCLUSION: This is an indication that the combination of warm compress and chest massage is therapeutic in the management of chest pain in chronic bronchitis