Effects of Acupressure on Nurses' Psychological Distress, Depression, Job Stress, Occupational Burnout, and Resilience

Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital

Status: Completed

Conditions: Acupressure; Depression; Nurses; Anxiety; Psychological Distress

Treatments: Behavioral: Acupressure

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06946888

KSVGH24-CT6-13

Details and patient eligibility

About

This measurement aims to understand the effect of self-acupressure on the Shenmen Point (神門) and (內關) points on the hand on emotional distress, anxiety, depression, stress, work fatigue and adaptability of clinical nurses. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Whether acupressure can reduce emotional distress, anxiety, depression, stress and work fatigue in nursing staff.

Participants will:

1. Enforcement measures:

1. Acupressure group: Perform self-acupressure twice a day, each time for about 2 minutes, and record the acupressure records every day for 2 consecutive weeks.
2. Original method group: followed the original self-coping method. 2. After the intervention began, participants completed study questionnaires weekly for two months.

Full description

1. Purpose of the Study:

   The goal of this study is to understand emotional distress, anxiety, depression, stress, workplace fatigue, and resilience among clinical nurses, as well as the factors related to these conditions. Investigators also want to evaluate the effects of different coping methods-either by self-pressing specific acupuncture points (Shenmen and Neiguan on the hand) or using usual ways of managing stress and anxiety.

2. About the Acupressure Points:

   • Shenmen Point (神門): Shenmen, located on the inner wrist, is a key point on the Heart Meridian. It's often used in traditional Chinese medicine to calm the mind, ease anxiety, help with sleep problems, headaches, and emotional fatigue.

   • Neiguan Point (內關): Neiguan is located on the inner forearm. Pressing this point can help relieve stress, reduce bloating, calm palpitations, and improve sleep. It's often used when feeling tense or anxious.

   • Usual Coping Methods: If participants are assigned to this group, participants will simply continue handling stress and anxiety the way you normally do.

3. Who Can Join the Study:

   Participants can join this study if:

   • A clinical nurse aged 20 or older.
   • Participants screening results show a distress score of 3 or above, or a mood thermometer score of 4 or above.
   • Participants are willing and able to fill out questionnaires at specific times over the next two months.

   Participants cannot join this study if:

   • Participated in a similar study within the last month.
   • Currently work in administrative or non-patient care units (like the supply center).
   • Are currently pregnant.

4. Study Procedures:

   If participants agree to participate and sign the consent form, researchers will ask participants to fill out several questionnaires. These will cover basic info, emotional distress, mood, depression, anxiety, work stress, fatigue, and resilience. It takes about 10-20 minutes to complete.

   If participants distress score is 3 or higher, or your mood score is 4 or higher, participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups:

   • Acupressure Group: Participants will learn how to press the Shenmen and Neiguan acupoints on their hands and press them twice a day (about 2 minutes each time) for 2 weeks. participants will also keep a simple daily log of your acupressure practice.

   • Usual Care Group: Participants will continue with usual ways of coping and fill out a short daily emotional self-assessment form.

   Investigators will check in with participants every week using the same set of questionnaires to track changes for two months. In total, participants will be asked to fill out the survey 9 times.

5. Possible Side Effects and How to Handle Them:

   • From the Acupressure: When pressing the Shenmen or Neiguan points, participants might feel a sensation like soreness, tingling, pressure, or slight pain-this is normal and usually tolerable. There's no research showing any harmful side effects from pressing these points. If it ever feels too uncomfortable, participants can adjust the pressure.

   • From Participation: The risks of participating in this study were similar to participants' normal, everyday experiences. Participants were free to stop at any time if they felt sick or uncomfortable during the study. Participants can also contact the program's emergency contacts.

6. Expected Benefits:

   Past research and traditional practice have shown that pressing the Shenmen and Neiguan points can help reduce anxiety, stress, insomnia, and related symptoms. While the researchers cannot guarantee that this study will help individual participants, it may help healthcare professionals understand ways to better support caregivers and could benefit others in the future.

7. The researcher's requirements for participants during the study:

   • Please do not participate in other similar clinical studies while participating in this clinical study.
   • Please fill in the daily log on time and truthfully.
   • Provide accurate information in the questionnaire.

8. Participants' privacy is protected:

Researchers will only collect information necessary for this study. All personal data and survey responses of participants will remain confidential. The researcher will not use the participant's name or personal identification, but will assign a code to the participant so that the participant's identity remains anonymous in all records.

Enrollment: 160 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 20+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Clinical nurses aged 20 years or older from a designated medical center.
• Nurses who score ≥3 on the emotional distress thermometer or ≥4 on the Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS-5) based on self-reported questionnaires.
• Able and willing to complete the required study questionnaires during the 2-month study period.

Exclusion criteria

• Nurses who refuse to participate after being informed about the study or are unable to comply with the study protocol.
• Nurses working in non-patient-care units (e.g., administrative departments or supply centers).
• Pregnant nurses.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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160 participants in 2 patient groups

Control group

No Intervention group

Description:

Care continued in the original manner without any intervention.

Intervention group (Acupressure)

Experimental group

Description:

Participants perform self-acupressure on the Shenmen and Neiguan points twice daily for 2 weeks.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Acupressure