The effect of self-acupressure application on sleep quality and fatigue in nurses who working in medical clinics during the pandemic process: A randomized controlled study

This research was conducted to determine the effect of self-acupressure application on sleep quality and fatigue in nurses who working in medical clinics during the pandemic process. The prospective, two-armed (1:1), experimental design study was conducted with 64 nurses working in the medical clinics of a university hospital between March and June 2021, including the acupressure group (n=32) and the sham acupressure group (n=32). In the study, both groups applied self-acupressure thrice a week for four weeks (12 sessions), taking into account the pressure points taught to them. Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index and Fatigue Severity Scale were applied to both groups before and four weeks after acupressure. Research data were evaluated using Shapiro-Wilk, chi-square and dependent-independent samples t test. In our study, the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index and Fatigue Severity Scale total scores averages were found to be significantly lower in the acupressure group compared to the sham acupressure group (p<0.05). When the groups were evaluated within themselves, it was determined that the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index and Fatigue Severity Scale total score averages decreased significantly after the application in the acupressure group (p<0.05). In the sham acupressure group, although there was a partial decrease in Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index and Fatigue Severity Scale total score averages after acupressure, this difference was not significant (p>0.05). In our study, it was determined that acupressure is a non-invasive, simple, safe and effective complementary and integrated method that can be applied to improve sleep quality and manage fatigue in nurses.