The Effect of Emotional Freedom Technique on Anxiety Levels of Nurses Who Care for COVID19 Patients During the Pandemic Process

It is very important to protect and improve the physical, mental and social health of nurses in the event that they are exposed to the virus for a long time due to the frequent encounters with patients diagnosed or suspected of COVID-19 and the long duration of care, increasing cases and the death of their colleagues (Que et al., 2020). Current researches have made it necessary for nurses to have difficulties in effectively coping with the anxiety experienced in the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected the whole world, and to apply new effective methods, as their training includes effective coping methods (Feinstein and Church, 2010). It is very important to protect and improve the physical, mental and social health of nurses, especially in the event that nurses frequently encounter patients diagnosed or suspected of COVID-19 and are exposed to the virus for a long time due to the long duration of care, increasing cases and the death of their colleagues. Que et al., 2020). Current researches have made it necessary for nurses to have difficulties in effectively coping with the anxiety experienced in the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected the whole world, and to apply new effective methods, as their training includes effective coping methods (Feinstein and Church, 2010). There are studies that are effective in reducing stress and anxiety, such as meditation, yoga, and breathing therapies, which are recommended to prevent the increase in stress and anxiety levels that may occur in nurses by evaluating the experienced situations (Labrague et al., 2020; Vieta et al., 2020). In addition to these applications, it is seen that Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) has been increasingly used recently in controlling and reducing anxiety (Hartmann, 2016). EFT is a type of energy-based psychotherapy that combines the components of Western psychology and Eastern medicine, applied to eliminate negative thoughts and feelings and problems related to emotions (İnangil et al., 2020; Church, 2013). In the process of providing effective care to COVID-19 cases, nurses fulfill the requirements of their profession with their ability to anticipate some unforeseen problems created by the workplace environment and to solve these problems. Due to the challenging process that emerged with the pandemic, the treatment and care of their patients, as well as meeting many urgent needs, left nurses in a difficult situation (Labrague et al., 2020; Vieta et al., 2020). It is very important that nurses, who provide services effectively and in a competitive way during the pandemic, can protect their physical, mental and social health (Chirico et al., 2020). Although the EFT technique is used in many different areas today, its effect on the level of anxiety in nurses during the COVID-19 process is not yet known. As a result, to evaluate the effect of EFT, whose positive results have been proven by many studies, on the anxiety level of nurses caring for CO