Can Massage During One Year Improve Health in Health-care Providers Working in Hospital

The overall aim of this pilot study is to investigate the effect, "feasibility" and experiences of regular massage over 12 months on the mental and physical health of healthcare professionals, as well as the frequency of layoffs, sick leave and reported patient safety risk cases, as well as health economics

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Quality of Life; Psychological Distress; Massage Therapy; Health-care Workers
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Massage

Detailed Description

A pilot and "feasibility" study with pre-post design. 50 health care professionals from the Medical Clinic, Vrinnevi Hospital in Norrköping are included. The participants perform 10 30 minute sessions of classic Swedish massage during 12 months by a certified masseur. Mental and physical health data is collected using questionnaires, blood and body weight. Data on layoffs, sick leave and patient safety risks are taken from the hospital's data register. Data regarding the participants' experience of receiving massages is collected during interviews.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 25
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Sweden
  • Norrköping, Sweden, 601 74
    • Linköping University
  • Linköpings Universitet
    • Norrköping, Linköpings Universitet, Sweden, 601 74
      • Peter Johansson

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Working at least for 50 % of fulltime

Main task working with patient care in the hospital ward

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Massage; 30 minutes of classical swedish massage given by a certified masseur 10 times monthly during 12 months	Other: Massage; 10 times of 30 minutes Swedish classical Massage will be given monthly during one year. The massage will be give by a cerified masseur

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Symptoms of Stress	The Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10) is a 10-item self-report questionnaire measuring perceived stress during the past month. Total scores range from 0 to 40, with higher scores indicating greater perceived stress (i.e., worse outcome).	Baseline (start of massage) and 12 months (end of massage)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Symptoms of Anxiety	The Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) is a 7-item self-report questionnaire assessing anxiety symptoms during the past two weeks. Each item is rated from 0 ("not at all") to 3 ("nearly every day"), giving a total score from 0 to 21. Higher scores indicate greater anxiety severity (worse outcome).	Baseline (start of massage and 12 months (end of massage).
Sleeping Problems	The Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) is a 7-item self-report questionnaire assessing the nature, severity, and impact of insomnia during the past two weeks. Scores range from 0 to 28, with higher scores indicating more severe insomnia.	ISI mean score from baseline (start of massage) to12 months (end of massage).
Symptoms of Depression	The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) is a 9-item self-report questionnaire assessing depressive symptoms during the past two weeks. Scores range from 0 to 27, with higher scores indicating greater depression severity.	PHQ-9 mean score from baseline (start of massage) to 12 months (end of massage).
Health Related Quality of Life	The RAND-36 Health Transition item asks respondents to rate their health compared with one year ago. Scores are transformed to a 0-100 scale. Higher scores indicate better perceived change (better outcome).	RAND-36 halth transition from baseline (start of massage) to 12 months (end of massage).

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University Hospital, Linkoeping
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Peter Johansson, Professor, Linköpings Universiet

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 20, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 1, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): March 1, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 15, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 22, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): September 26, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): December 18, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 17, 2025
• Last Verified: December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Therapeutics; Complementary Therapies; Physical Therapy Modalities; Rehabilitation; Therapy, Soft Tissue; Musculoskeletal Manipulations; Massage
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2020-01140

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: At our university we have not yet any plan on how to deal with GDPR and sharing data.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No