Indonesian Journal of Health Science
Vol 6 No 3 (2026)

The effect of common cold massage therapy on symptom improvement in children aged 3–60 months at Jatiroto Primary Health Center

Ratna Ayu Aziroh (Institut Teknologi Sains dan Kesehatan RS dr Soepraoen)
Rosyidah Alfitri (Institut Teknologi Sains dan Kesehatan RS dr Soepraoen)



Article Info

Publish Date
02 Jul 2026

Abstract

Common cold is a frequent viral infection of the upper respiratory tract in infants and children under  five years old. Pharmacological treatments often carry risks of side effects, shifting clinical focus toward non-pharmacological therapies such as pediatric massage. This study aims to determine the effect of common cold massage therapy on accelerating symptom improvement in children aged 3-60 months at the Jatiroto Public Health Center. A quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test design was applied to 30 respondents selected through purposive sampling. Data collected included age, gender, symptom duration, and pre-test post-test symptom scores evaluated using standard measurement scales. The data was quantitatively processed and statistically evaluated using the paired t-Test. The results showed that the mean score of common cold symptoms before therapy was 8.97, which significantly decreased to 3.97 after therapy. Bivariate analysis using a paired t-Test revealed a highly significant improvement with t = 13.935 and p < 0.001 (p = 2.21 x 10-14). It is concluded that pediatric common cold massage therapy is highly effective in reducing upper respiratory tract infection symptoms in children. This non-pharmacological approach can be implemented as a safe alternative or complementary treatment within midwifery care models in Primary Health centers.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

ijhs

Publisher

Subject

Dentistry Health Professions Medicine & Pharmacology Nursing Public Health Veterinary

Description

Indonesian Journal of Health Science is a place for disseminating research results in the field of health, including, but not limited to topics of public health, environmental health, occupational health, pharmacy, nutrition, epidemiology, medical laboratories, physiotherapy, or other general ...