The Effect of Acupressure on Anxiety in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease Referred to the Emergency Department of a Selected Military Hospital

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease are a group of patients who experience high levels of anxiety. Acupressure is a non-pharmacological method that can be used as a complementary treatment to improve the condition of patients.

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of acupressure in reducing anxiety in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

This clinical trial was performed in 2020 on 56 patients with inflammatory bowel disease referred to the emergency department of a selected military hospital in Tehran, Iran. Patients were selected by purposive sampling method and randomly divided into experimental and control groups. Initially, the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was completed by the samples, and then, the intervention was performed for four weeks including the method of applying acupressure, identification of the desired points, the technique of applying pressure to the points, and the duration of pressure. After the intervention, the questionnaires were completed again, and the obtained data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 16) through descriptive and inferential statistics.

There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of demographic characteristics and level of anxiety before the intervention (P> 0.05). After the intervention, the results of Fisher's exact test showed a statistically significant difference in terms of anxiety levels between the two groups (P<0.001). Accordingly, the experimental group reported a lower level of anxiety, compared to the control group.

According to the results of the present study and the positive effect of acupressure on reducing anxiety in patients in the experimental group, it is recommended to use acupressure as a complementary treatment and present it to the nursing staff in the form of in-service training.