title: Effect of acupressure on pain in Iranian leukemia patients: A randomized controlled trial study.
abstract: Nonpharmacological methods of pain relief such as acupressure are becoming increasingly popular worldwide. Practitioners often claim that such methods are highly effective and less invasive than analgesic drugs, but available empirical evidence is largely inconclusive. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that, postacupressure intervention, the amount of pain experienced by sampled leukemia patients, who received acupressure in addition to standard care, will reduce substantially compared to patients who received only routine treatment. This controlled trial was undertaken with hospitalized leukemia patients between February and June 2015. Our primary sample consisted of 100 participants who were randomly allocated to 2 groups. One (intervention) group underwent 12 acupressure sessions in addition to standard treatment while the control group received no intervention apart from being given the standard treatment for leukemia. The visual analogue scale was used to measure the levels of pain experienced. No significant differences were found between the 2 groups across 12 interventions. However, each group reported significantly different pain level changes before and after each intervention, suggested that the acupressure method was effective in reducing pain in the short term. Nurses are able to apply this complementary therapy alongside other procedures to manage these patients' pain. It is recommended that further studies be conducted to better understand the specific conditions under which acupressure can provide effective pain relief.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing and Midwifery Amol, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Hamid
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sharif Nia
authors.affiliation: Taylor's Business School, Subang Jaya, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Saeed
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pahlevan Sharif
authors.affiliation: Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Ameneh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yaghoobzadeh
authors.affiliation: Nottingham University Business School, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, Semenyih, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Ken Kyid
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Yeoh
authors.affiliation: Student Research Committee, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Amir Hossein
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Goudarzian
authors.affiliation: Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Soleimani
authors.affiliation: Student Research Committee, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Saman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jamali
mesh_terms: D019050:Acupressure; D000328:Adult; D000072716:Cancer Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D007938:Leukemia / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D016037:Single-Blind Method
keywords: Iran; acupressure; cancer; leukemia; nursing; pain