The Effect of Emotional Freedom Techniques Application on Nurses

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Alert Fatigue, Health Personnel; Occupational Stress
• Interventions: Behavioral: Emotional Freedom Technique

• Registration Number: NCT06271278
• Lead Sponsor: Gürkan

Brief Summary

Nurses working in surgical intensive care units face numerous health and safety stressors. The introduction of new health technologies, medical devices (such as bedside monitors, pump and perfuser devices, and mechanical ventilators), and changing health environments have contributed to increased work stress among nurses. This, in turn, has had negative effects on their physical and mental health outcomes. One of the hazards associated with medical devices is alarm fatigue. Noise pollution caused by bells, beeps, and horns in intensive care units can lead to alarm fatigue, defined as desensitisation to monitor alarms. Nurses are particularly susceptible to this due to their constant exposure to these sounds, which can also cause stress. Occupational stress is a recognised issue in this demanding field, characterised by disproportionate workloads and negative effects on performance.Work-related stress can lead to a loss of compassion towards patients and an increase in malpractice, negatively affecting the quality of care. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the impact of applying emotional freedom techniques on work-related stress and alarm fatigue experienced by nurses working in surgical intensive care units.

Detailed Description

Surgical intensive care units have high mortality and mobility rates and require 24-hour monitoring. Intensive care environments are stressful for working individuals, particularly nurses, due to health and safety concerns. In recent years, new health technologies and medical devices, as well as changing health environments, have increased work stress among nurses, leading to negative physical and mental health outcomes. The use of medical device alarms, including bedside monitors, pump devices, perfuser devices, patient heating-cooling devices, mechanical ventilators, computers, and nutrition devices, has increased over time. These alarms are used to monitor changes in the vital signs of patients and ensure continuity of care. However, alarm fatigue is a significant problem caused by medical devices. Noise pollution is a common issue in intensive care units due to the various sounds emitted by medical devices. Health professionals may experience alarm fatigue, which is defined as desensitisation to monitor alarms. Dealing with alarm fatigue requires objective and comprehensible solutions. Inappropriate techniques such as disabling alarms, delayed response, setting them between unsafe parameters, and turning down the volume so low that they cannot be heard, are cognitive stressors. The continuous exposure to these alarm sounds, coupled with the nature of nurses' work, can also cause stress. Occupational stress is a demanding profession that can have negative effects on performance. Therefore, it is important to address occupational stress in the nursing profession. It is quite common among nurses and can jeopardise both their quality of life and patient safety. Work-related stress can lead to a loss of compassion towards patients and an increase in malpractice, negatively affecting the quality of care. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the impact of applying emotional freedom techniques on work-related stress and alarm fatigue experienced by nurses working in surgical intensive care units.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2023-11-02
• Study First Submitted: 2024-02-14
• Study First Submitted QC: 2024-02-14
• Study First Posted: 2024-02-21
• Primary Completion: 2024-06-28
• Study Completion: 2024-08-16
• Status Verified: 2025-01
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-01-11
• Last Update Posted: 2025-01-14

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 144

Inclusion Criteria

• Being 18 years of age or older
• Working as a nurse in one of the surgical intensive care units
• Volunteering to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria

• Working in a unit other than surgical intensive care units
• Not volunteering to participate in the research

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Emotional Freedom Techniques group	Emotional Freedom Technique	The Nurse Introduction Form, Subjective Discomfort Unit, Alarm Fatigue Scale, and Work Stress Scale were administered to the experimental group prior to patient care. The Emotional Freedom Technique was explained, and the nurses were instructed to apply it before and after their shifts for one week. One week later, the Subjective Discomfort Unit, Alarm Fatigue Scale, and Work Stress Scale were applied again.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Alarm Fatigue Scale	0-7 days tracking	The scale consists of 13 items and produces a score between 0 and 36. A higher score indicates an increase in alarm fatigue.
The General Work Stress Scale	0-7 days tracking	The General Work Stress Scale is a 9-item scale that produces scores ranging from 9 to 45. High scores indicate high job stress, while low scores indicate low job stress.
Subjective Units of Disturbance Scale	0-7 days tracking	The discomfort scale used in energy therapies allows individuals to evaluate their own discomfort on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 indicates no discomfort and 10 indicates unbearable discomfort.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Inonu University Turgut OzaL Medical Center; 🇹🇷 Malatya, Turkey