본 연구의 목적은 대장내시경 수검자를 대상으로 복부 온열요법을 적용하고 복부 온열요법이 대장내시경 수검자의 복부통증과 복부팽만감에 미치는 효과를 파악하기 위한 무작위 대조군 사전-사후 실험연구이다. 본 연구의 근접 모집단은 경기도 S시에 소재한 A 대학병원 소화기검사실 외래에서 대장내시경검사를 받는 대상자 중 2022년 1월 19일부터 2022년 2월 23일까지 내원한 환자 중 70명을 실험군 35명과 대조군 35명으로 무작위 배정하였다. 효과 측정 도구는 복부통증은 숫자 평정 척도를 이용하여 측정하였으며 복부팽만감은 객관적 복부팽만감은 복부둘레(abdomen circumference)를 측정하고, 주관적 복부팽만감은 숫자 평정 척도를 이용하여 측정하였다. 수집된 자료는 SPSS/WIN 25.0 통계 프로그램을 사용하여 빈도와 백분율, 평균과 표준편차, chi-square test 및 independent t-test를 적용하여 분석하였다.
본 연구의 결과를 요약하면 다음과 같다.
제 1 가설 ‘복부 온열요법을 받은 실험군은 대조군보다 복부통증 점수가 감소할 것이다.’의 가설은 통계적으로 유의한 차이를 보여 지지되었다(t=4.68, p<.001).
제 2 가설 ‘복부 온열요법을 받은 실험군은 대조군보다 복부팽만감이 감소할 것이다.’의 가설은 통계적으로 유의한 차이를 보여 지지되었다(t=4.47, p<.001, t=4.79, p<.001).
부가설 2-1 가설 ‘복부 온열요법을 받은 실험군은 대조군보다 복부둘레가 감소할 것이다.’의 가설은 통계적으로 유의한 차이를 보여 지지되었다(t=4.47, p<.001).
부가설 2-2 가설 ‘복부 온열요법을 받은 실험군은 대조군보다 주관적 복부팽만감 점수가 감소할 것이다.’의 가설은 통계적으로 유의한 차이를 보여 지지되었다(t=4.79, p<.001).
본 연구를 통하여 대장내시경 수검자에게 복부 온열요법을 적용함으로써 복부 온열요법의 복부통증과 복부팽만감 감소효과를 확인하였다. 복부 온열요법은 대장내시경검사 후 복부통증 및 복부팽만감으로 불편감을 호소하는 수검자를 위해 임상에서도 적극적으로 활용할 수 있는 간호 중재의 한 방법으로 활용 가능함을 뒷받침하였다.
Alternative Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the effects of abdominal thermotherapy on abdominal pain and distention in patients after colonoscopy, and evaluate the usefulness of abdominal thermotherapy as a nursing intervention. This study is a quasi-experimental study with a randomized control-group pretest-posttest design. The target population of this study was those who had undergone colonoscopy. This study’s accessible population was those who were scheduled for colonoscopy at the GI endoscopic clinic of a university hospital located in S City, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, and had visited the GI endoscopic clinic from January 19 to February 23, 2022. Among them, 35 subjects for an experimental group and 35 for a control group were randomly selected. Abdominal pain was measured using the Numerical Rating Scale. Further, abdominal distention was measured in two ways, objective abdominal distention was measured by abdomen circumference, and subjective abdominal distention was measured using the Numerical Rating Scale. The collected data were analyzed with frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation, chi-square test, and an independent t-test using the SPSS/WIN 25.0 statistical program.
The results of this study are summarized as follows:
Hypothesis 1 that “the experimental group who received abdominal thermotherapy will have a lower abdominal pain score than the control group” was supported, because a statistically significant difference in subjective anxiety was found between the two groups (t=4.68, p<.001).
Hypothesis 2 that “the experimental group who received abdominal thermotherapy will have lower levels of abdominal distention than the control group” was supported, because a statistically significant difference in subjective anxiety was found between the two groups (t=4.47, p<.001, t=4.79, p<.001).
Sub-hypothesis 2-1 that “the experimental group that received abdominal thermotherapy will have a lower abdomen circumference than the control group” was supported, because a statistically significant difference in subjective anxiety was found between the two groups (t=4.47, p<.001).
Sub-hypothesis 2-2 that “the experimental group that received abdominal thermotherapy will have a lower subjective abdominal distention score than the control group” was supported, because a statistically significant difference in subjective anxiety was found between the two groups (t=4.79, p<.001).
Therefore, this study found that the use of abdominal thermotherapy in patients after colonoscopy reduced abdominal pain and distention.