The Effect of Self-Acupressure on Blood Pressure, Stress, and Well-Being Levels in Individuals With Hypertension (SAPH)

May 12, 2026 updated by: Saadet Can Çiçek, Abant Izzet Baysal University

The Effect of Self-Acupressure on Blood Pressure, Stress, and Well-Being Levels in Individuals With Hypertension: A Three-Arm Randomized Controlled Trial

This randomized controlled trial examines the effects of nurse-led self-acupressure at HT7, LI4, PC6, and EX3 points on blood pressure, stress, and well-being in adults with primary hypertension. Participants are randomized to real acupressure, sham acupressure, or usual care groups for 2 weeks.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

72

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

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

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Aged 18-65 years
  2. Diagnosed with primary hypertension (Stage 1 or 2)
  3. Systolic blood pressure 130-179 mmHg or diastolic 80-109 mmHg
  4. Taking antihypertensive medication
  5. Able to understand and communicate in Turkish
  6. Willing to provide written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Secondary hypertension
  2. Pregnancy or lactation
  3. Severe cardiovascular disease (heart failure, myocardial infarction within 6 months)
  4. Stroke history within 6 months
  5. Skin lesions or infection at acupressure sites (HT7, LI4, PC6, EX3)
  6. Peripheral neuropathy affecting sensation
  7. Current use of anticoagulant therapy
  8. Participation in another clinical trial within 30 days

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: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Real Acupressure Group
participants receive acupressure on bilateral HT7,LI4,PC6 EX3 points. pressure applied for 15 seconds per point, 3 days per week, for 2 weeks
Behavioral: Real Acupressure
Acupressure applied to HT7 (Shenmen), LI4 (Hegu), PC6 (Neiguan) bilaterally, and EX3 (Yintang). Pressure applied for 15 seconds per point, 3 days per week for 2 weeks by trained researcher. Total session duration approximately 1 minute.
Active Comparator: control
Participants receive usual care for hypertension including prescribed antihypertensive medications and routine clinical nursing follow-up for 2 weeks. No acupressure intervention applied.
Other: Usual Care
Standard hypertension management including prescribed antihypertensive medication and routine clinical nursing follow-up for 2 weeks. No acupressure applied.
Sham Comparator: sham/placebo
Participants receive sham acupressure on non-acupoints located 1-1.5 cm away from HT7, LI4 , PC6, and EX3 points. Pressure applied for 15 seconds per site, 3 days per week, for 2 weeks to maintain participant blinding
Behavioral: sham acupressure
light pressure applied to non-acupoint sites 1-1.5 cm from HT7İLI4,PC6 and EX3 points for 15 seconds per site,3 days per week for 2 weeks

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
change in blood pressure
Time Frame: baseline and week 2
change from baseline in systolic and diastolic blood pressure measured using an automated office blood pressure monitor at 2 weeks
baseline and week 2

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
change in mental well-being
Time Frame: baseline, week 2
Change from baseline in Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) total score at 2 weeks. Scores range from 14 to 70, with higher scores indicating better mental well-being
baseline, week 2
change in perceived stress
Time Frame: baseline, week 2
Change from baseline in Perceived Stress Scale-14 (PSS-14) total score at 2 weeks. Scores range from 0 to 56, with higher scores indicating greater perceived stress
baseline, week 2

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Abant Izzet Baysal University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Saadet Can Cicek, Associate Professor,PhD, Abant Izzet Baysal University

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 (Estimated)

June 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

September 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

October 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 5, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 5, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 11, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 14, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 12, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • AIBU-HTN-ACUP-2026-01

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared to protect participant confidentiality as stated in the informed consent form approved by the ethics committee. Data will only be accessible to the study team for the purposes of this study.

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.

Clinical Trials on PRIMARY HYPERTENSION

Clinical Trials on Real Acupressure

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Kyrgyzstan

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe