The Effect of "Quantum Touch" Application on Transfer Anxiety in Pediatric Patients and Their Parents Planned to be Hospitalized in the Emergency Department

March 5, 2024 updated by: Eda Polat, Istanbul Medeniyet University
Anxiety, which is a subjective experience in which many emotions such as worry, uncertainty, restlessness, and sadness are experienced together, is defined as "a state of tension that arises as a result of the internal conflict experienced by the individual". Emergency services are the units where all kinds of patients and injured are followed and treated 24 hours a day, and anxiety is a very common emotional reaction in patients who apply to the emergency department and their relatives. The patient and his family; They experience varying levels of anxiety due to a sudden and unexpected deterioration of health, the threat of their life, the uncertainty of the situation, the fear of death, role changes, disruption of routines, and being in an unfamiliar hospital environment. With the increase of anxiety, distraction in family members, repetitive questions to health personnel, inability to understand the importance of the event and difficulty in making decisions can be seen.Leaving the emergency room as well as being in the emergency room causes anxiety in individuals. The anxiety experienced in this situation is called transfer anxiety. Transfer anxiety is often defined as "anxiety experienced by an individual when he/she moves from a safe and familiar environment to an unfamiliar environment" and was accepted as a nursing diagnosis by NANDA in 1992. Transferring the patient from the emergency room to the clinic is a routine procedure for emergency nurses, but it causes anxiety for the patient and their relatives. As a result of transfer anxiety, many patients and their family members experience widespread confusion both before and after transfer and tend to certain problems. The patient and family members experience anxiety when they are in a foreign environment with different routines and follow-up procedures for the first time and do not know what to expect. Pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods are used to reduce anxiety. Cognitive behavioral therapy techniques are frequently used among non-pharmacological methods. Cognitive-behavioral therapies are a form of treatment developed on the basis of behavioral psychological counseling theory, which is problem-focused, deals with the "here and now" and applies learning theories to help individuals when they encounter difficulties and life problems that they cannot overcome in their daily lives. Cognitive-behavioral therapies that are highly suitable for working with children, youth, adults, the elderly and families; They are easy to work with individually or in groups and do not require any hardware. Among cognitive behavioral therapy techniques, therapy strategies that reduce anxiety include relaxation, biofeedback, systematic desensitization, exercise, vestibular desensitization, response prevention, and therapeutic touch techniques. Therapeutic touch; In 1972, it was started to be used as a healing method by the manipulation of hypothetical human bioenergy field by nurse professor Doores Krieger. In the literature, it is frequently applied to reduce pain and anxiety in nursing studies and successful results are obtained. Quantum-Touch; It is one of the therapeutic touch techniques and is a biofield therapy that uses life force energy to facilitate healing. Quantum-Touch was first described by Richard Gordon and Bob Rasmusson in 1978; It activates life force energy by combining various hand positions, various breathing techniques and body awareness exercises. It is applied by directing the formed high energy field to an area of pain, stress or illness through therapeutic touch. Tully (2017) found that Quantum Touch in reducing acute and chronic pain; Walton (2011) reported that Quantum-Touch application is effective in chronic musculoskeletal pain. The patient and/or the patient's family may be physically ready for relocation in the hospital environment, but they are not psychologically ready. Inadequate preparation of the individual for the transfer from the emergency room to the clinic or lack of information about the transfer, perceiving that his safety is under threat, and experiencing uncertainty about his situation cause transfer anxiety. Although it is seen in the literature that transfer anxiety is applied in adults and generally in intensive care units, no study has been found in children and emergency services.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Anxiety, which is a subjective experience in which many emotions such as worry, uncertainty, restlessness, and sadness are experienced together, is defined as "a state of tension that arises as a result of the internal conflict experienced by the individual". Emergency services are the units where all kinds of patients and injured are followed and treated 24 hours a day, and anxiety is a very common emotional reaction in patients who apply to the emergency department and their relatives. The patient and his family; They experience varying levels of anxiety due to a sudden and unexpected deterioration of health, the threat of their life, the uncertainty of the situation, the fear of death, role changes, disruption of routines, and being in an unfamiliar hospital environment. With the increase of anxiety, distraction in family members, repetitive questions to health personnel, inability to understand the importance of the event and difficulty in making decisions can be seen.Leaving the emergency room as well as being in the emergency room causes anxiety in individuals. The anxiety experienced in this situation is called transfer anxiety. Transfer anxiety is often defined as "anxiety experienced by an individual when he/she moves from a safe and familiar environment to an unfamiliar environment" and was accepted as a nursing diagnosis by NANDA in 1992. Transferring the patient from the emergency room to the clinic is a routine procedure for emergency nurses, but it causes anxiety for the patient and their relatives. As a result of transfer anxiety, many patients and their family members experience widespread confusion both before and after transfer and tend to certain problems. The patient and family members experience anxiety when they are in a foreign environment with different routines and follow-up procedures for the first time and do not know what to expect. Pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods are used to reduce anxiety. Cognitive behavioral therapy techniques are frequently used among non-pharmacological methods. Cognitive-behavioral therapies are a form of treatment developed on the basis of behavioral psychological counseling theory, which is problem-focused, deals with the "here and now" and applies learning theories to help individuals when they encounter difficulties and life problems that they cannot overcome in their daily lives. Cognitive-behavioral therapies that are highly suitable for working with children, youth, adults, the elderly and families; They are easy to work with individually or in groups and do not require any hardware. Among cognitive behavioral therapy techniques, therapy strategies that reduce anxiety include relaxation, biofeedback, systematic desensitization, exercise, vestibular desensitization, response prevention, and therapeutic touch techniques. Therapeutic touch; In 1972, it was started to be used as a healing method by the manipulation of hypothetical human bioenergy field by nurse professor Doores Krieger. In the literature, it is frequently applied to reduce pain and anxiety in nursing studies and successful results are obtained. Quantum-Touch; It is one of the therapeutic touch techniques and is a biofield therapy that uses life force energy to facilitate healing. Quantum-Touch was first described by Richard Gordon and Bob Rasmusson in 1978; It activates life force energy by combining various hand positions, various breathing techniques and body awareness exercises. It is applied by directing the formed high energy field to an area of pain, stress or illness through therapeutic touch. Tully (2017) found that Quantum Touch in reducing acute and chronic pain; Walton (2011) reported that Quantum-Touch application is effective in chronic musculoskeletal pain. The patient and/or the patient's family may be physically ready for relocation in the hospital environment, but they are not psychologically ready. Inadequate preparation of the individual for the transfer from the emergency room to the clinic or lack of information about the transfer, perceiving that his safety is under threat, and experiencing uncertainty about his situation cause transfer anxiety. Although it is seen in the literature that transfer anxiety is applied in adults and generally in intensive care units, no study has been found in children and emergency services.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

60

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

  • Name: Özlem İbrahimoğlu, PhD
  • Phone Number: +905436195971
  • Email: oogutlu@gmail.com

Study Locations

    • Üsküdar
      • Istanbul, Üsküdar, Turkey
        • Recruiting
        • Istanbul Zeynep Kamil Gynecology and Pediatrics Training and Research Hospital
        • Contact:
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

5 years to 10 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Being between 5-10 years old (the fear scale used for children can be used for 5-10 years old)
  • Planning hospitalization from the emergency department to the clinic
  • Absence of any mental and/or physical health problems that would prevent communication
  • Parents and children speak Turkish
  • Parent and child volunteer to participate in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

Being under 5 years old and over 10 years old

  • Having any mental and/or physical health problems that prevent communication
  • Parents and children do not agree to participate in the study.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Quantum Touch
Those who are planned to be hospitalized from the emergency department and applied quantum touch
Quantum-Touch is one of the therapeutic touch techniques, a biofield therapy that uses life force energy to facilitate healing
No Intervention: Control
Those who are planned to be hospitalized from the emergency department and who have not intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Child Fear Scale
Time Frame: 6 months
The CFS is a scale from 0 to 4, consisting of five drawn facial expressions ranging from neutral (0=no anxiety) to frightened face (4=severe anxiety).
6 months
Child Anxiety Scale-State
Time Frame: 6 months
CAS-S is similar to a thermometer with a light bulb at the bottom and horizontal lines at intervals that go up. The scale is aimed at children between the ages of four and ten. To measure state anxiety (CAS-S), the child is asked to mark what he feels "right now".
6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

March 1, 2022

Primary Completion (Estimated)

May 1, 2024

Study Completion (Estimated)

July 1, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 13, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 13, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

May 18, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

March 6, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 5, 2024

Last Verified

March 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IstanbulMU16

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

IPD Plan Description

The authors will decide and plan among themselves.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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