Paper
Friday, July 13, 2007
Effects of Auricular Acupressure to Sleep Quality and Depression in Hemodialysis Patients
Shiow-Luan Tsay, PhD, RN, Department of Nursing, National Taipei College of Nursing, Taipei, Taiwan
| Learning Objective #1: learn the auricular acupressure in symptom management for caring patients with end-stage renal disease. |
| Learning Objective #2: analyze the effects of auricular acupressure to sleep quality and depression in hemodialysis patients. |
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of auricular acupressure on sleep quality and depression of hemodialysis patients. This study was a randomized control trial; qualified patients were randomly assigned into an auricular acupressure group or a placebo group. A total of 50 participants were included in this study. The measures included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Visual Analog Scale for sleep quality, and the Hospital Depression Scale. Data were collected at baseline, during the treatment and following treatment. The effects of auricular acupressure were analyzed with the Generalized linear mixed-effects model (GLMs). Results indicate that auricular acupressure group patients significantly improved their quality of sleep (b= -2.88, p < 0.001) and decreased depressive mood (b= -1.078, p = 0.001). These effects of auricular acupressure appeared as soon as the treatment was implemented.
The authors encourage nurses to learn this easy, noninvasive, and inexpensive technique to improve sleep quality and to decrease negative mood of hemodialysis patients.