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Completed

NCT Number: NCT04393077

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) Effect on Nurses

Background: Infectious disease outbreaks have a psychological effect on the general population, and especially on health workers. Nurses who care for COVID-19 patients feel negative emotions, fear, and anxiety due to fatigue, discomfort, and helplessness due to high-intensity work.

Objective: The study aims to evaluate the effect of EFT in the prevention of stress, anxiety, and burnout of nurses who have an important position in the fight against COVID-19.

Design: Randomized controlled trial. Setting: COVID-19 department of a university hospital in Istanbul Province, Turkey.

Participants: The sample of the study consisted of nurses working on 80 COVID-19 cases.

Methods: The investigators will recruit nurses who care for the patient infected with COVID-19 randomly allocated them to the intervention (n = 40) and control (n = 40) groups. EFT will apply to the experimental group with online access. Data will collect using the Introductory Characteristics Form, the Subjective Discomfort Unit Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Burnout Scale.

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Key information

Conditions

Stress Anxiety Anxiety Disorders Behavior Behavioral Symptoms Burnout, Caregiver COVID-19 Caregiver Burden Coronaviridae Infections Coronavirus Infections Infections Lung Diseases Mental Disorders Nidovirales Infections Pneumonia Pneumonia, Viral RNA Virus Infections Respiratory Tract Diseases Respiratory Tract Infections Stress, Psychological Virus Diseases

Age range

18 year–65 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Medeniyet University

Istanbul, Turkey (Türkiye)

About this study

With the onset of the COVID-19 epidemic, healthcare workers have assumed important responsibilities in the control, prevention, care, and treatment of its spread. In this period, they provided the necessary health practices for suspicious or confirmed COVID-19 patients in the front lines and under harsh conditions, which are generally long and tiring. It is clear that infectious disease outbreaks have a psychological effect on the general population, and especially on health workers. The social distance required to prevent outbreaks is a key factor in disease management while causing social and psychological effects.

2.1. Design A randomized controlled experimental research design. The study complied with the guidelines of the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) checklist.

2.2. Participants This study will conduct with nurses working in a university hospital located in Istanbul between May 2020 and June 2020, working in the care of COVID-19 patients.

2.5. Measures The data will be collected with the Introductory Characteristics Form, the positive units of distress scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Burnout Inventory. The investigators created our data collection forms using Survey Monkey, which provides electronic self-access and prevents data from multiple entries from the same person, making it easier to collect and track data. Confidentiality will be guaranteed by completely disabling electronic and IP address records to obtain anonymous replies.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Not taking any courses about coping with anxiety and stress,
  • Volunteering to participate in the study.

Exclusion criteria

  • Having any psychiatric diagnoses

Treatment and study plan

Emotional Freedom Technique

Behavioral

EFT application was started by showing the meridian points to the participants through the picture. It was advised that these points should be clicked with the index finger and middle finger without hurting, but with certain strokes, and it was ensured that they understood the regions by showing and applying them. Then, the following basic steps, which should be followed by the EFT session (four in total lasting 20 minutes), were carried out in succession with the researcher.

Primary outcomes

  1. The subjective units of distress scale

    Time frame: Immediately after EFT implementation

    The cognitive element of EFT involves self-rating of distress severity and pairing of an abbreviated exposure statement and a self-acceptance statement. The severity of distress was evaluated by subjects on an 11-point Likert scale. 0 corresponds to absolutely no distress, while 10 corresponds to the maximum possible distress. This was considered as the subjective units of distress scale (SUD) and provides clinicians and patients with the measurement of the severity of symptoms experienced by the latter in addition to a repeated measure by which the progress can be evaluated.

  2. The State Anxiety

    Time frame: Immediately after EFT implementation

    The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory includes two separate scales with a total of 40 items. This study employed the State Anxiety Scale. Its validity and reliability in Turkish were confirmed by Öner and Lecompte. The scale consists of 20 questions and anxiety questions. To obtain the anxiety scale, to state how the person feels at any time and under any circumstances, answers were requested taking into account the feelings related to the situation.

  3. Burnout

    Time frame: Immediately after EFT implementation

    The scale was created to measure the professional burnout levels of individuals. Adaptation studies in Turkish were carried out by Çapri in (2006) This 7-point Likert type scale consists of 21 items, scoring between 1 (never) and 7 (always), while 4 items (3, 6, 19, 20) of the scale are scored in reverse. While evaluating the scale scores, the increase in the score obtained indicates that burnout increases and the decrease in score indicates that burnout decreases.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Istanbul Saglik Bilimleri University

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) Effect on Nurses' Stress, Anxiety and Burnout Levels During the COVID-19 Pandemic Process: A Randomized Controlled Study

Important dates

Study start
2020
Primary completion
2020
Study completion
2020
First posted
May 19, 2020
Registry last updated
Nov 24, 2020

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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