The Effect of the Emotional Freedom Technique Applied to Postmenopausal Women Before Probe Curettage on Pain, Anxiety and Vital Signs. (EFT-ANXIETY)

The aim of the study is to examine the effect of the emotional freedom technique applied to postmenopausal women before the probe curettage procedure on pain, anxiety and vital signs.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: The Effect of Emotional Freedom Technique on Anxiety, Pain, and Vital Signs
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: emotional freedom technique

Detailed Description

In this experimentally designed study, it was aimed to examine the effect of the emotional freedom technique applied to postmenopausal women before the probe curettage procedure on pain, anxiety and vital signs.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 132
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey (Türkiye)
  • Kahramanmaraş, Turkey (Türkiye), 4600
    • Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam Üniversitesi
  • Kahramanmaraş
    • Kahramanmaraş, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey (Türkiye), 4600
      • kahramanmaraş NFK Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital Additional Service Building
    • Kahramanmaraş, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey (Türkiye), 4600
      • Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam Üniversitesi

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Those who are in menopause
• Do not have conditions such as infection, wound or scar in the tapping areas,
• Having no problem communicating in Turkish,
• Those who have not used any analgesic medication in the last 24 hours,
• Those who have not had probe curettage before,
• Volunteer to participate in the study,
• Not using any medication that directly affects vital signs,
• Does not have a disease that would cause problems in feeling pain,
• Not using antidepressants, anxiolytics and sedative agents.

Exclusion Criteria:

• • Those who are not in menopause

  • Women who have had probe curettage before
  • Their general condition deteriorates during the procedure or a different intervention is made with anesthesia,
  • Any complications developed during the procedure,
  • Those who experienced syncope during the procedure and the procedure was continued with general/local anesthesia,
  • Having a psychiatric problem,
  • Analgesic medication used during the procedure,
  • Having cognitive, affective, perceptual problems.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: EFT İNVERTİON GROUP; During the initial consultation, the Personal Information Form, SUE Scale, State Anxiety Scale (SAS), Visual Analog Scale (VAS), vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, and peripheral oxygen saturation/SpO2) Monitoring Form will be administered. EFT, which lasts approximately 30-40 minutes, will be administered to women by the researcher. Second measurement: Immediately after EFT, the SUE Scale, State Anxiety Scale (SAS), Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, and peripheral oxygen saturation/SpO2) will be administered again. Following the second measurement, the probe curettage will be performed. Third measurement: During the procedure, the VAS and vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, and peripheral oxygen saturation/SpO2) Monitoring Form will be administered. Fourth measurement: After the probe curettage, women will be given 2 minutes to rest. The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, and peripheral oxygen satur	Behavioral: emotional freedom technique; In this study, the effect of emotional freedom technique on pain, anxiety, and vital signs prior to the probe curettage procedure will be examined. The EFT session will be administered by an EFT specialist approximately 40 minutes prior to the probe curettage procedure by tapping on the tapping points.
No Intervention: control group; During the initial consultation, the Personal Information Form, SUE Scale, State Anxiety Scale (SAS), Visual Analog Scale (VAS), vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, and peripheral oxygen saturation/SpO2) Monitoring Form will be administered. Second measurement: The SUE Scale, State Anxiety Scale (SAS), Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, and peripheral oxygen saturation/SpO2) will be administered again simultaneously with the EFT group. Following the second measurement, a probe curettage will be performed. Third measurement: During the procedure, the VAS and vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, and peripheral oxygen saturation/SpO2) Monitoring Form will be applied. Fourth measurement: After the probe curettage, women will be given 2 minutes to rest. The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, and peripheral oxygen saturation/SpO2) Monitoring Form will be applied.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)	Pain intensity will be assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), a numeric rating scale ranging from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates no pain and 10 indicates the worst imaginable pain. Higher scores indicate greater pain intensity.	Baseline (pre-procedure) and during the probe curettage procedure.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory - State Version (STAI-I)	Anxiety levels will be assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory - State Version (STAI-I), which measures situational anxiety at a specific point in time. The scale consists of 20 items, with total scores ranging from 20 to 80. Higher scores indicate greater levels of anxiety.	Baseline (pre-procedure) and immediately post-procedure.
Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure	Systolic and diastolic blood pressure will be measured to evaluate physiological responses associated with the probe curettage procedure and the effect of the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT).	Baseline (pre-procedure), during the probe curettage procedure, and immediately post-procedure (within 2 minutes after completion).
Heart Rate	Heart rate will be measured to assess autonomic physiological responses related to anxiety, pain, and procedural stress during the probe curettage procedure.	Baseline (pre-procedure), during the probe curettage procedure, and immediately post-procedure (within 2 minutes after completion).
Peripheral Oxygen Saturation (SpO₂)	Peripheral oxygen saturation will be measured to monitor respiratory and physiological stability during and after the probe curettage procedure.	Baseline (pre-procedure), during the probe curettage procedure, and immediately post-procedure (within 2 minutes after completion).

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
State-Uncertainty Emotion (SUE) Scale	Emotional distress related to uncertainty will be assessed using the State-Uncertainty Emotion (SUE) Scale. The scale is scored on a numeric scale from 0 to 10, where higher scores indicate greater emotional distress and uncertainty.	Baseline (pre-procedure) and immediately post-procedure (within 2 minutes after completion).

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• "This link redirects to the website of Sütçü İmam University."

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 1, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): January 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 21, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 9, 2026
• First Posted (Estimated): January 16, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): January 16, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 9, 2026
• Last Verified: January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Anxiety, Pain, and Vital Signs
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neurologic Manifestations; Mental Disorders; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Pain; Anxiety Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: KSU-MED-TRIAL-01; 2024/109 (Other Identifier: Ethics Committee Protocol Number)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: The individual participant data (IPD) will not be shared due to privacy concerns and to ensure confidentiality of personal information. Additionally, the data is collected for a specific study and will not be made available for secondary analyses.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No