Abstract

Objective: This pilot study aimed to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of an auricular acupressure intervention on sleep quality, mood state, and quality of life (QOL) among parents of children with cancer.

Methods: Thirty-five parents were assigned to three-weeks intervention in an active auricular acupressure group (AAG) or a sham auricular acupressure group (SAG). Feasibility was assessed by adherence to the acupressure protocol. Outcomes were measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index for sleep quality, the Profile of Mood States for mood, and the QOL short form for QOL. The data were analyzed using generalized estimating equations to identify changes over time within and between the groups.

Results: Adherence to the protocol was 78%. There were no differences between the groups in overall sleep quality or mood state, but QOL in the Physical Component Summary was better in the AAG at time 1. Parents in the AAG exhibited significantly higher levels of vigor compared to those in the SAG group. Statistically significant dif- ferences were observed in the Physical Functioning and General Health subscales, with the AAG showing better outcomes than the SAG group at time 1 and time 2, respectively.

Conclusions: Likely due to the small sample size, the AAG and SAG did not differ in overall sleep quality, mood state, or QOL, but there were significant subscale differences that support intervention effectiveness. A fully powered large-scale trial is needed to determine whether this intervention would be effective for parents of children with cancer. Reducing symptom distress and improving QOL in these parents are essential, and in- terventions to achieve this goal must be tested.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05654155.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-2024

Notes/Citation Information

2347-5625/© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of Asian Oncology Nursing Society. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apjon.2024.100601

Funding Information

This study was supported by grants from the Ministry of Science and Technology Taiwan (Grant Nos. 101-2314-B-255-002-MY2, 105-2314-B- 255 -004) and the Chang Gung Medical Research Fund (Grant Nos. CMRPF1H0081, BMRPA63). The funders had no role in considering the study design or in the collection, analysis, interpretation of data, writing of the report, or decision to submit the article for publication.

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