The Effect of Auricular Acupressure on Urinary Incontinence, Quality of Life, and Sleep Quality in Elderly Women with Stress Urinary Incontinence

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of auricular acupressure on the severity of urinary incontinence, quality of life, and sleep quality in elderly women with stress urinary incontinenceMethods: This single-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study included 53 subjects. The participants were elderly women with stress urinary incontinence. The experimental period was a total of 6 weeks, and four different acupressure sites were applied for each group; the experimental group (n=27) received auricular acupressure on the kidney, bladder, central rim, anterior lobe, whereas the placebo-control group (n=26) received acupressure on the wrist, elbow, helix 2, and helix 3. In order to examine the effects of the auricular acupressure intervention, the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form (ICIQ-UI SF), Incontinence Quality of Life (I-QOL) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were measured before and after the intervention.Results: The ICIQ-UI SF scores and the PSQI scores in the experimental group with auricular acupressure significantly decreased after 6 weeks (p<.001) compared with the scores of the placebo-control group. The I-QOL scores in the experimental group significantly increased after 6 weeks (p<.001) compared with the scores of the placebo-control group.Conclusion: Auricular acupressure was effective for mitigating the severity of urinary incontinence and improving the quality of life and sleep after 6 weeks. Therefore, auricular acupressure can be used as a non-pharmacological nursing intervention for elderly women with stress urinary incontinence.