The Effect of Emotional Freedom Techniques Application on Nurses

February 20, 2024 updated by: Gurkan KAPIKIRAN

The Effects of Emotional Freedom Technique on Work-Related Stress and Alarm Fatigue in Nurses Working in Surgical Intensive Care Units

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.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

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 Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

144

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 Locations

  • Turkey
      • Malatya, Turkey, 44090
        • Recruiting
        • Inonu University Turgut Ozal Medical Center
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Gurkan Kapikiran, Ph.D
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Seher Çevik Aktura, Ph.D
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Şerafettin Okutan, Ph.D
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Remziye Cici, Ph.D

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

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 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: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Emotional Freedom Techniques group
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.
Behavioral: Emotional Freedom Technique
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a powerful and effective practice that enables individuals to release negative emotions and achieve mental and physical relaxation. EFT is a form of counselling based on acupuncture points, which are areas of low electrical and energy flow in the body. Stimulating these points causes the brain to secrete dopamine. EFT involves stimulating specific points on the body where energy flow is low. This is done by gently tapping on these areas with the fingers, which releases dopamine. The process is painless and can be performed by the individual themselves.
No Intervention: Control group
No applications were administered to nurses working in the surgical intensive care unit. In the control group, data was collected before patient care using the Nurse Introduction Form, Subjective Discomfort Unit, Alarm Fatigue Scale, and Work Stress Scale. No interventions were performed. One week later, the Subjective Discomfort Unit, Alarm Fatigue Scale, and Work Stress Scale were applied again.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Subjective Units of Disturbance Scale
Time Frame: 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.
0-7 days tracking
Alarm Fatigue Scale
Time Frame: 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.
0-7 days tracking
The General Work Stress Scale
Time Frame: 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.
0-7 days tracking

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Gurkan KAPIKIRAN

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)

November 2, 2023

Primary Completion (Estimated)

February 28, 2024

Study Completion (Estimated)

February 28, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 14, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 14, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

February 21, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 22, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 20, 2024

Last Verified

February 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2023-17

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

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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