Is there an association between women's consultations with a massage therapist and health-related quality of life? Analyses of 1800 women aged 56–61 years

Frawley, Jane; Peng, Wenbo; Sibbritt, David; Ward, Lesley; Lauche, Romy; Zhang, Yan; Adams, Jon

doi:10.1016/j.jbmt.2016.04.008

Cited by 1 publication

(3 citation statements)

References 38 publications

(16 reference statements)

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“…The findings reported here indicate that women increase their use of massage therapy as their quality of life decreases. This finding is consistent with other studies reporting that women with significantly poorer physical and emotional heath and poorer quality of life were more likely to seek massage therapy for their back pain and joint pain [ 19 , 54 ]. A qualitative study reported participants experienced an improved quality of life associated with receiving massage therapy [ 55 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…A previous study reporting on prevalence of massage use in young and mid-aged women found that 42% of young Australian women and 25% of mid-aged women consulted a massage therapist [ 13 ]. Another study reporting on the use of CM among 1800 Australian women aged 56-61 years, 51% consulted a massage therapist within the previous 12 months [ 19 ]. The contrast in findings here may be due to previous studies reporting on various set age ranges up to 61 years, where findings reported from this study included women 45 years and older.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While international researchers have examined the prevalence and determinants of CM in mid-aged and older adults [ 14 – 17 ], and the efficacy of massage use in older adults [ 18 ], these studies do not report on the prevalence and determinants of massage use in mid-aged and older women specifically. In Australia, while some studies have reported on prevalence and determinants of massage use specifically [ 9 , 13 ] as well as massage and associated HRQoL [ 19 ], more research is needed to better understand the determinants of use among mid-aged and older Australian women.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Use of massage therapy by mid-aged and older Australian women

Ladanyi

Adams

Sibbritt

2022

BMC Complement Med Ther

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Background Massage is a widely acceptable and popular form of complementary medicine (CM) among Australian women. While there is some research that reports on massage use in younger women, there is minimal research exploring massage use in the treatment of chronic illness in older women. This study provides an estimate of the prevalence of massage use, as well as identifying the characteristics significantly associated with consultation with a massage therapist, for mid-age and older Australian women. Methods A cross-sectional sub-study was conducted on a sample of women drawn from the 45 and Up Study; a large cohort study of adults aged 45 years and over. Data from 1795 women were included in the analyses and massage use was compared against measures of demographics, health status and health care utilisation. Results A total of 174 (7.7%) women consulted with a massage therapist in the previous 12 months. Women were more likely to consult a massage therapist if they have tertiary level education (O.R. = 1.67; 95% C.I.: 1.04, 2.65; p = 0.031), private health insurance (O.R. = 6.37; 95% C.I.: 4.41, 9.19; p < 0.001) and/or osteoarthritis (O.R. = 1.72; 95% C.I.: 1.19, 2.48; p = 0.004). They were also more likely to consult a massage therapist if they have a poorer health-related quality of life (HRQoL) (O.R. = 1.14; 95% C.I.: 1.04, 1.27; p = 0.007). Conclusion Older, tertiary-level educated Australian women with private health insurance were more likely to use massage therapy, as were women with osteoarthritis specifically. Women with lower HRQoL were found to be more likely to use massage therapy in the treatment of their chronic illness. This research provides insight into the determinants of massage use among ageing women and is useful for governments in consideration of accessibility to holistic healthcare when developing public policy for healthcare in Australia.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%