Abstract
ABSTRACT Objective: to evaluate the effectiveness of auriculoacupuncture in improving the sleep quality of nursing professionals in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: quasi-experimental before and after study, without a control or matching group performed from May to July 2020, in a referral hospital for infectious diseases in Ceará. The sample consisted of 26 nursing professionals, including nurses and technicians, who performed three sessions of auriculoacupuncture, once a week, for four weeks. Sleep quality was measured by the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index. The effects of the intervention were analyzed by the student's “t” test to compare means between the first and last application, one-way ANOVA with repeated measures and post-hoc Sidak´s test. Results: regarding the components of the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index, significant differences were observed between the individuals in the components: subjective sleep quality (p=0.001); sleep latency (p<0.001), sleep duration (p<0.001), habitual sleep efficiency (p=0.011), sleep disorders (p<0.001), sleeping medications (p=0.005) and excessive daytime sleep sleepiness (p<0.001). The overall sleep index also changed significantly (p<0.001). The intervention reduced the sleep quality index score by 52.35%. Conclusion: the changes that occurred were able to change the category in sleep classification through a detailed decrease in the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index scores. Significant differences were observed between the first and final moments in the global index and in all components.
Highlights
The SARS-CoV-2 virus, responsible for causing a severe acute respiratory syndrome, called COVID-19, has caused physical and psychological consequences to the world population, especially those of the risk groups and professionals working on the front line of health care, given the exhaustive exposure and harmful consequences caused by viral manifestation.[1,2,3]
The extra hours worked is related to the extra hourly workload due to the demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic
Regarding the PSQI, it was observed that the general index showed significant mean differences in individuals who performed auriculoacupuncture at all times of treatment, with a significant reduction after the second evaluation
Summary
The SARS-CoV-2 virus, responsible for causing a severe acute respiratory syndrome, called COVID-19, has caused physical and psychological consequences to the world population, especially those of the risk groups and professionals working on the front line of health care, given the exhaustive exposure and harmful consequences caused by viral manifestation.[1,2,3] Studies prove that the appearance of the new coronavirus can trigger, among other physical disorders, anxiety, fear, depressive symptoms, changes in the circadian cycle, delirium and sleep pattern disorders.[2,3,4]In addition, these factors can be worsened in health workers when added to physical exhaustion, high workload, lack of personal protective equipment, inadequate working conditions, need to make ethically complex decisions about the care rationing, emotional tensions and critical patient care, which already occurred even before the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, since it is closely linked to nursing practice. Personal aspects linked to the anxieties generated by social isolation and changes in family routine have collaborated to accentuate the context in which these professionals are inserted, which may put the safety of these professionals and patients at risk.[5,6,7] In this sense, among the coping strategies for occupational stress, anxiety, mood and sleep disorders, auriculoacupuncture is highlighted.[8] This therapy has shown a promising effect in practice in mitigating problems related to disasters, epidemics or pandemics, establishing itself as a possible intervention that can be used in frontline health professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic, in an attempt to improve sleep patterns and stress control.[9]
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