Effect of Acupressure at ShenMen Acupoint on the Sleep Quality of Nurses in Emergency Departments and Intensive Care Units

Objective: Sleep disorders in nurses have a significant impact on their patient care quality. This study aims to evaluate the effect of acupressure at ShenMen acupoint (HT7) on the sleep quality of nurses in emergency departments and Intensive Care Units (ICUs). Methods: In this randomized clinical trial with pretest-posttest design with control group, participants were 80 nurses working in emergency departments and ICUs of hospitals in Kashan, Iran. There were divided into two groups of intervention and control using the block randomization method after signing a written informed consent form. The intervention group underwent acupressure intervention at HT7 in both hands twice per day for 4 weeks. The control group did not receive any intervention. Data collection tools were a demographic form and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire. Collected data were analyzed in SPSS software using descriptive statistics and independent t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-square test, and paired t-test, considering a significance level of 0.05. Results: Pre-test results showed no statistically significant difference in the mean score of PSQI between the two groups of intervention (6.94±1.96) and control (7.53±3.57) (P>0.05), but the post-test results showed a significant increase in the mean score of PSQI in the intervention group (4.48±1.61) compared to the control group (6.83±2.81) (P<0.001). Conclusion: Acupressure on ShenMen acupoint can increase the sleep quality of nurses; therefore, it is recommended for the management of their sleeps.