The effect of massage therapy on sleep/awake patterns in the preterm infants: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract The aim of this systematic review study was investigating the effect of massage on the sleep and awake pattern of premature infants. All articles published in English and Persian until the end of 2020 in databases including Medline, Scopus, Embase, Cochran library, Google scholar and the Farsi databases (SID and IranMedex) were searched. The included studies were randomized, controlled, clinical trials and quasi-experimental studies that investigated the effect of massage therapy or Tactile-kinesthetic stimulation on sleep/awake pattern. The heterogeneity was examined using I2. Five studies were entered in this systematic review. The mean total awake time was significantly higher in the massage group compared to the standard care group (SMD = 1.00; 95%CI: 0.09 to 1.90; P = 0.03). However, there was no significant difference between the massage group and standard care group in terms of total sleep. NICU nurses can incorporate massage into daily routine care based on the results of this present review. Registration number in the prospero CRD42020153546.