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The Effect of Acupressure on the Sleep Quality and Fatigue

Not Applicable
Conditions
Sleep
Fatigue
Interventions
Other: Acupressure
Other: Sham acupressure group
Registration Number
NCT04923061
Lead Sponsor
Mersin University
Brief Summary

This research aims to determine the effect of acupressure applied to nurses actively working in internal clinics on sleep quality and fatigue during the COVID-19 pandemic process. This research hypothesizes that acupressure improves sleep quality and reduces fatigue.

Detailed Description

In this study, 68 nurses working in internal clinics were randomly assigned to acupressure and placebo (sham) acupressure groups. In the acupressure group (n=34), the heart meridian 7th point (HT7), large intestine meridian 4th point (LI4), stomach meridian 36th point (ST36) and spleen meridian 6th point (SP6) will be applied to a total of four points. Depending on the preparation and compression time on each point, the session duration of each nurse will be 20 minutes on average. In the sham group (n=34), pressure will be made approximately 1-1.5 cm away from the HT7, LI4, ST36, SP6 points. In the Sham group, the acupressure application time will take 20 minutes on average. Reminder text messages (SMS) will be sent before the application on the days when the nurses will practice, so that they continue to do the application regularly. At the end of the application, after the data collection process is completed, the sham group will be taught the correct acupressure points. Nurses will apply acupressure three times a week for a total of 12 sessions for four weeks. The primary outcome of the research is the effect of acupressure on the sleep quality of nurses. The secondary outcome of the study is to determine the effect of acupressure on fatigue. The outcomes will be collected before and four weeks after the acupressure and sham acupressure administration.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
UNKNOWN
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
68
Inclusion Criteria

Nurses who care for COVID 19 patients during the pandemic process

Nurses working in internal clinics during the data collection process

Those who have recovered from COVID 19

Those who agreed to participate in the study

No deformity or lesions in the areas where acupressure will be applied

No acupressure experience

No sleep disorder diagnosis and no medical treatment

Not diagnosed with anxiety disorder and not receiving medical treatment

Not diagnosed with depression and not receiving medical treatment

Coffee, cigarette and alcohol free

No mental disorder

Night shift workers

Those who can understand and speak Turkish

Those who signed the Informed Consent Form

Exclusion Criteria

Nurses who did not work in internal clinics during the data collection process

Nurses who do not care for COVID 19 patients during the pandemic process

Those with active COVID 19

Those who do not agree to participate in the study

Those who have any deformity or lesion in the areas where acupressure will be applied

Experiences of acupressure

Heart and kidney failure, severe anemia, immunodeficiency problem

Pregnant

Diagnosed with sleep disorder and receiving treatment

Anxiety disorder and treatment

Depression diagnosed and treated

Coffee, cigarette and alcohol addiction

Having mental illness

Fixed day shift workers

Those who can not understand and speak Turkish

Those who did not sign the Informed Consent Form

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Acupressure groupAcupressureThe experimental group will apply acupressure to themselves three times a week for a total of 12 sessions for four weeks.
Sham acupressure groupSham acupressure groupThe sham group will apply acupressure to themselves three times a week for a total of 12 sessions for four weeks.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Sleep quality evaluated using the Pittsburgh Quality Sleep IndexChange from before implementation and 4th week of practice.

The total scale score is in the range of 0 (minimum) -21 (maximum), and the high total Pittsburgh Quality Sleep Index (PSQI) score indicates that sleep quality is low. A total PSQI score between 0-4 indicates good sleep quality, while between 5-21 shows that sleep quality is low.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Fatigue evaluated using the Fatigue Severity ScaleChange from before implementation and 4th week of practice

It is a Likert-type scale consisting of a total of nine items, each item being evaluated between 1 and 7 (1=I totally disagree, 7=I totally agree). The fatigue score is obtained by dividing the total score obtained from the scale by the number of scale items. The score that can be obtained from the scale varies between 9 and 63. A high score indicates an increased level of fatigue.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Mersin University

🇹🇷

Mersin, Yenişehir, Turkey

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