The Effect of Acupressure on Pain, Nausea-Vomiting, and Mental Well-Being in Oncology Patients

Mersin University

Status: Not yet enrolling

Conditions: Nausea With Vomiting Chemotherapy-Induced; Mental Health Wellness 1; Pain

Treatments: Other: Control group; Other: Acupressure by therapists; Other: Self-acupressure

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05898880

mERSİNuU.

Details and patient eligibility

About

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare the effect of self acupressure and acupressure applied by therapists on pain, nausea-vomiting, and mental well-being in oncology patients.

For this purpose, 93 individuals with stage 1-stage 3 cancer will be included in the study.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Is acupressure effective on pain, nausea-vomiting and mental well-being in oncology patients? Is there a difference in the effectiveness of self-acupressure and acupressure applied by therapist on pain, nausea-vomiting and mental well-being? The participants will be included in the study as three groups, namely the self-acupressure group, the acupressure group applied by the therapist, and the control group.

Self-acupressure participants will self-administer acupressure. In the acupressure group, which will be applied by the therapist, acupressure will be applied to the participants by researchers who have acupressure certificate.

In the control group, acupressure etc. No additional application will be made. Visual analog scale, nausea-vomiting and retching index, and mental well-being scales will be applied to all groups at the beginning of the study and three days after the study.

Full description

Large Intestine Meridian 4th point (Hegu/LI4), Pericardium Meridian/Neiguan (P6) point and Yintang (EX-HN 3) point will be used for acupressure application in the research.

Enrollment: 93 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• ≥18 years
• Cancer patients without distant metastases in stage-1, stage-2 and stage-3 who have received at least one course of chemotherapy
• Pain degree 4 and above (will be evaluated with a visual analog scale)
• Nausea-vomiting degree of 4 and above (will be evaluated with a visual analog scale)
• Receiving standard antiemetic and standard analgesic treatment (All patients included in the study should receive similar treatment.)
• No previous acupressure experience
• Absence of any wound or lesion in the area where acupressure will be applied.
• Not using a different complementary approach during the collection of research data
• Those who signed the Informed Consent Form/Written Consent Form
• Patients without any psychiatric diagnosis will be included in the study.

Exclusion criteria

• < 18 years old
• Those who have not received chemotherapy before
• Pain grade below 4 (will be evaluated with a visual analog scale)
• Nausea-vomiting degree below 4 (will be evaluated with a visual analog scale)
• Receiving different antiemetic and analgesic treatments
• Previous acupressure experience
• Any wound or lesion in the area where acupressure will be applied
• Using a complementary approach other than acupressure at the time research data was collected
• Those who did not sign the Informed Consent Form/Written Consent Form
• Patients with any psychiatric diagnosis will not be included in the study.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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93 participants in 3 patient groups

Self acupressure group

Experimental group

Description:

The first acupressure application will be administered and taught individually by the researcher to the oncology patients in the self-administered group. Afterwards, each patient who learns the application will be asked to apply acupressure on his own for three days. In the self-acupressure group, a questionnaire form consisting of a personal information form, visual analog scale, nausea, vomiting and retching index and mental well-being scale will be applied first (pre-test) before the acupressure application is taught to the group by the researchers. Afterwards, patients will apply acupressure on their own for three days, and at the end of this period (post-test), a questionnaire consisting of personal information form, visual analog scale, nausea, vomiting and retching index and mental well-being scale will be applied. Acupressure will be applied the large intestine meridian 4th Point (LI4), the pericardium meridian Neiguan (P6) and Yintang (EX-HN3).

Treatment:

Other: Self-acupressure

Acupressure by therapist

Other group

Description:

In this group, acupressure will be administered to stage I, stage II, and stage III cancer patients receiving at least one course of chemotherapy for a total of three days by researchers with acupressure certification. Before the application (pre-test) by the therapist, a questionnaire consisting of a personal information form, visual analog scale, nausea, vomiting and retching index and mental well-being scale will be applied to the patients in the group in question. At the end of the three-day acupressure application (post-test) applied to the patients included in the study by the therapist, a questionnaire consisting of a personal information form, visual analog scale, nausea, vomiting and retching index and mental well-being scale will be applied. In the acupressure group applied by the therapist, a total of three points will be applied to the upper extremity: the 4th point of the large intestine meridian (LI4), the Pericardium Meridian/Neiguan (P6), Yintang (EX-HN3) point.

Treatment:

Other: Acupressure by therapists

Control group

Other group

Description:

The control group will receive the routine treatment applied in the hospital, and acupressure will not be applied to this group.

Treatment:

Other: Control group