Auriculotherapy as a Coping Strategy in Professional Nursing

Applicability of Auriculotherapy as a Strategy for Stress and Coping in Nursing Professionals

This randomized clinical trial aimed at evaluating the auriculotherapy as coping strategies in 75 nursing professionals in a University Hospital.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Stress, Psychological; Coping Behavior
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: auriculotherapy by needles; Other: auriculotherapy by seeds

Detailed Description

There is consensus that psychological and social factors can lead to physical health problems of individuals and coping strategies in stressful situations may be crucial for the mental, physical and social development of people. Taking care of professionals who provide health services is a key strategy, since good results depend on the service, especially in work teams healthy and, therefore, able to promote the humanization of service.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 75
• Phase: Phase 2; Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Brazil
  • São Paulo, Brazil, 05508-000
    • Hospital Universitário de São Paulo

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 23 years to 61 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Average and high score by the List of Stress Symptoms
• Voluntary participation in the study
• Availability of time for submission to the sessions

Exclusion Criteria:

• Pregnancy
• Medical license or vacation during the period
• Low score of stress

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Auriculotherapy by needles; The investigators used 3 points, Shenmen, Kidney, and Brain Stem with semi-permanent needles of 1.8 mm, 1 time per week for 8 sessions.	Other: auriculotherapy by needles; The chinese auriculotherapy is a intervention used by Chinese Traditional Medicine in order to balance the body energy and to treat several kind of diseases using semi-permanent needles in specific points of the auricular pavilion.; Other Names: auricular acupuncture
Experimental: Auriculotherapy by seeds; The investigators used the three points Shenmen, Kidney, and Brain Stem with mustard seeds, 1 time per week for 8 sessions.	Other: auriculotherapy by seeds; We used the three points Shenmen, Kidney, and Brain Stem with mustard seeds, 1 time per week for 8 sessions.The subjects were instructed to stimulate the points three times a day.; Other Names: auricular acupuncture by seeds
No Intervention: Control Group; Control Group didn't receive any treatment and was evaluated at the same time and the same way of interventions group

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Coping Strategy: Domain Social Support(After 60 Days)	Scale information: Folkman and Lazarus Coping Strategy Inventory with 66 items. The scale is constructed by 8 different "domains": confrontation, distancing, self-control, social support, acceptance of responsibility, escape avoidance, problem solving and positive reappraisal.The questions are scored by Likert scale: 0 (not used this strategy); 1 (used somewhat); 2 (used enough) and 3(used in large quantities) to the 66 items (Folkman and Lazarus Coping Strategy Inventory). It performed a summation of items and defined the scores: 0-4 points (not use this strategy), 5-9 (use this strategy a bit), 10-14 ( use this strategy quite) 14-18 (use strategy plenty).	after 60days
Coping Strategy: Distancing Domain	The questions are scored by Likert scale: 0 (not used this strategy); 1 (used somewhat); 2 (used enough) and 3(used in large quantities) to the 66 items (Folkman and Lazarus Coping Strategy Inventory). It performed a summation of items and defined the scores: 0-4 points (not use this strategy), 5-9 (use this strategy a bit), 10-14 ( use this strategy quite) 14-18 (use strategy plenty).	after 75 days
Coping Strategy: Social Support Domain	Scale information: Folkman and Lazarus Coping Strategy Inventory with 66 items. The scale is constructed by 8 different "domains": confrontation, distancing, self-control, social support, acceptance of responsibility, escape avoidance, problem solving and positive reappraisal.The questions are scored by Likert scale: 0 (not used this strategy); 1 (used somewhat); 2 (used enough) and 3(used in large quantities) to the 66 items (Folkman and Lazarus Coping Strategy Inventory). It performed a summation of items and defined the scores: 0-4 points (not use this strategy), 5-9 (use this strategy a bit), 10-14 ( use this strategy quite) 14-18 (use strategy plenty).	after 60 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Stress Scale	Scale information: Stress Symptoms List (LSS)with 60 items (better outcome)Low score: 12/29 points; Medium score: 30/60 points; High score: 61/120 points; Very high score (worse outcome): >120 points.	after 60 days

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Sao Paulo
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Leonice FS Kurebayashi, University of Sao Paulo

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: January 1, 2010
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 1, 2010
• Study Completion (Actual): September 1, 2011

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 23, 2011
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 24, 2011
• First Posted (Estimate): August 26, 2011

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): May 31, 2013
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 22, 2013
• Last Verified: April 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: coping behavior; stress psychological
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Stress, Psychological
• Other Study ID Numbers: CAAE: 0060.0.198.000-09