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Completed

NCT Number: NCT06044714

Effects of Acupuncture on Perceived Stress and Health in Military Service Members

The goal of this is to investigate the effect of a Manual Standardized Stress Acupuncture (MSSA) protocol as an adjunct treatment to a short-term mindfulness therapy for perceived stress and general health in service members (i.e., active duty military personnel and veterans).

The specific aims of this study are Aim 1) To evaluate the effectiveness of a brief MSSA as an adjunct treatment with a short-term Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) compared with MBSR alone for perceived stress and general health in service members. Aim 2) To describe any perceived benefits of MSSA as an adjunct treatment with MBSR compared with MBSR alone for perceived stress and general health.

Participants will be asked to complete an informed consent if eligible for the study and randomized into two groups: 1) Participants in the experimental group will receive MSSA in addition to MBSR. 2) Participants in the control group will receive MBSR only. Researchers will compare experimental and control groups to see if the interventions mitigated perceived stress and improved the health of the participants.

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Key information

Conditions

Perceived Stress

Age range

18 year–65 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Naval Medical Center, San Diego

San Diego, California, 92134, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Active duty and veteran service members,
  • 18 to 65 years of age, self-report of perceived stress symptoms for at least one month,
  • a score of 16 or above on the PSS,
  • stable on psychiatric and other medications including blood pressure agents for at least three months,
  • agrees to participate in group psychotherapy (i.e., MBSR), and
  • able to provide informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

  • Recent surgery within one month,
  • alcohol abuse or dependence diagnosis within one month,
  • active substance use/abuse/dependency treatment within one month,
  • pregnant women (acupuncture can result in an induction of labor and spontaneous abortion on rare occasions), and
  • has had acupuncture treatment, dry needling, and MBSR provided by a provider in the past month.

Treatment and study plan

Manual Standardized Stress Acupuncture (MSSA)

Procedure

Participants in the experimental group will receive 4 weekly sessions of MSSA, which consists of 8 acupuncture points: bilateral auricular (ear) shen men, GV- 20, GV-24.5 (Yin Tang), bilateral LI-4, and bilateral LR-3. Needles are left in situ for 30 minutes per session.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

Behavioral

Participants will receive four sessions of MBSR group psychotherapy (no more than 10 participants per group session) via Microsoft Teams. The first session will be 90 minutes followed by three 60-minute weekly sessions.

Primary outcomes

  1. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)

    Time frame: At baseline, at two weeks post interventions, and at four weeks post interventions

    The PSS is a 10-item scale used to evaluate perceived stress experience in adults. Perceived general stress is rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from never to very often. The total possible scores for PSS range from 0 to 56, with higher scores indicating higher stress.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Insomnia Severity Index

    Time frame: At baseline, at two weeks post interventions, and at four weeks post interventions

    The ISI is a seven-item standardized self-report questionnaire that measures the subjective symptoms of insomnia. These subjective symptoms include the respondents' concerns and distress because of problems with sleep. The ISI measure contains seven items: perceived difficulty with sleep-onset, sleep maintenance, and early morning awakenings; satisfaction with sleep patterns; interference of sleep problems with daily functioning; impairment because of a sleep problem; and degree of distress or concern with the sleep problem. Each item in the ISI is rated from 0 to 4 whereby the higher number indicates more difficulty. The scores are added to yield a range of total scores from 0 to 28 in which a higher score suggests more severe insomnia.

  2. The Short Form (SF) Health Survey

    Time frame: At baseline, at two weeks post interventions, and at four weeks post interventions

    The 20-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-20) measures the multidimensional concept of health including perceptions about general health, physical health, mental health, and social functioning. Scores are transformed to a scale of 0 to 100 wherein high scores indicate better functioning.

  3. Journal Log

    Time frame: At weeks 2 and 4 after treatments have been completed.

    Journal entries will include five open-ended questions about the participants' perceived benefits of treatment.

Other outcomes

  1. Blood Pressure (systolic and diastolic)

    Time frame: Prior to each acupuncture session (experimental group only)

    Blood pressures will be measured using a vital signs measuring device

  2. Heart Rate

    Time frame: Prior to each acupuncture session (experimental group only)

    Heart rate will be measured using a vital signs measuring device

  3. Defense and Veterans Pain Rating Scale (DVPRS)

    Time frame: Prior to each acupuncture session and at the end of each acupuncture session (experimental group only)

    The DVPRS measures pain from 0 (no pain) to 10 (as bad as it could be)

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

United States Naval Medical Center, San Diego

Fed

Collaborators

  • TriService Nursing Research Program
  • University of California, San Francisco

Registry information

Official study title

Effects of Acupuncture on Perceived Stress and Health in Military Service Members and Veterans

Important dates

Study start
2024
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
Sep 21, 2023
Registry last updated
Jan 28, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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