EFTsNCT05758636
The Effect of Emotional Freedom Technique on Anxiety Levels of Nurses Caring for COVID19 Patients
A study testing Emotional Freedom Technique in people with EFTs and Nursing Caries, run by Marmara University at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye).
Trial summary
It is very important to protect and improve the physical, mental and social health of nurses, especially in the event that nurses frequently encounter patients diagnosed or suspected of COVID-19 and are exposed to the virus for a long time due to the long duration of care, increasing cases and the death of their… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- EFTs, Nursing Caries, Anxiety
- What is being tested?
- Emotional Freedom Technique
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 100 participants
- Where
- 1 siteTurkey (Türkiye)
- Study dates
- 2 Mar 2022to 1 Jun 2023
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- not having been diagnosed with a psychiatric diagnosis,
- not having received any therapy including coping with stress
- not being diagnosed with COVID-19
- not being in the treatment care process
- not having applied the emotional freedom technique before, and volunteering to participate
Who cannot join
- Not participating in any of the emotional freedom technique sessions
- Being diagnosed with COVID-19 during the application of therapy
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: The Effect of Emotional Freedom Technique on Anxiety Levels of Nurses Who Care for COVID19 Patients During the Pandemic Process
It is very important to protect and improve the physical, mental and social health of nurses, especially in the event that nurses frequently encounter patients diagnosed or suspected of COVID-19 and are exposed to the virus for a long time due to the long duration of care, increasing cases and the death of their colleagues. Que et al., 2020). Current researches have made it necessary for nurses to have difficulties in effectively coping with the anxiety experienced in the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected the whole world, and to apply new effective methods, as their training includes effective coping methods (Feinstein and Church, 2010). There are studies that are effective in reducing stress and anxiety, such as meditation, yoga, and breathing therapies, which are recommended to prevent the increase in stress and anxiety levels that may occur in nurses by evaluating the experienced situations (Labrague et al., 2020; Vieta et al., 2020). In addition to these applications, it is seen that Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) has been increasingly used recently in controlling and reducing anxiety (Hartmann, 2016). EFT is a type of energy-based psychotherapy that combines the components of Western psychology and Eastern medicine, applied to eliminate negative thoughts and feelings and problems related to emotions (İnangil et al., 2020; Church, 2013). Although the EFT technique is used in many different areas today, its effect on the level of anxiety in nurses during the COVID-19 process is not yet known. As a result, to evaluate the effect of EFT, whose positive results have been proven by many studies, on the anxiety level of nurses caring for COVID-19 patients.
Read the detailed description
It is very important to protect and improve the physical, mental and social health of nurses in the event that they are exposed to the virus for a long time due to the frequent encounters with patients diagnosed or suspected of COVID-19 and the long duration of care, increasing cases and the death of their colleagues (Que et al., 2020). Current researches have made it necessary for nurses to have difficulties in effectively coping with the anxiety experienced in the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected the whole world, and to apply new effective methods, as their training includes effective coping methods (Feinstein and Church, 2010). It is very important to protect and improve the physical, mental and social health of nurses, especially in the event that nurses frequently encounter patients diagnosed or suspected of COVID-19 and are exposed to the virus for a long time due to the long duration of care, increasing cases and the death of their colleagues. Que et al., 2020). Current researches have made it necessary for nurses to have difficulties in effectively coping with the anxiety experienced in the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected the whole world, and to apply new effective methods, as their training includes effective coping methods (Feinstein and Church, 2010). There are studies that are effective in reducing stress and anxiety, such as meditation, yoga, and breathing therapies, which are recommended to prevent the increase in stress and anxiety levels that may occur in nurses by evaluating the experienced situations (Labrague et al., 2020; Vieta et al., 2020). In addition to these applications, it is seen that Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) has been increasingly used recently in controlling and reducing anxiety (Hartmann, 2016). EFT is a type of energy-based psychotherapy that combines the components of Western psychology and Eastern medicine, applied to eliminate negative thoughts and feelings and problems related to emotions (İnangil et al., 2020; Church, 2013). In the process of providing effective care to COVID-19 cases, nurses fulfill the requirements of their profession with their ability to anticipate some unforeseen problems created by the workplace environment and to solve these problems. Due to the challenging process that emerged with the pandemic, the treatment and care of their patients, as well as meeting many urgent needs, left nurses in a difficult situation (Labrague et al., 2020; Vieta et al., 2020). It is very important that nurses, who provide services effectively and in a competitive way during the pandemic, can protect their physical, mental and social health (Chirico et al., 2020). Although the EFT technique is used in many different areas today, its effect on the level of anxiety in nurses during the COVID-19 process is not yet known. As a result, to evaluate the effect of EFT, whose positive results have been proven by many studies, on the anxiety level of nurses caring for CO
- Conditions
- EFTs, Nursing Caries, Anxiety
- Being tested
- Emotional Freedom Technique
- Medical subject headings
- Anxiety Disorders
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Emotional Freedom TechniqueBehavioural
Before starting the EFT session, the participants were asked to identify the problem that aroused their anxiety. After the common point of the problems was determined, the ORDS level of all participants was determined. Next, the EFT session explained traditional acupressure meridian points on the head, face, neck, chest, and hands. Next, they were asked to repeat the phrase, "Even though I have this feeling of stress and anxiety, I accept myself deeply and completely," while gently applying to the acupuncture points with their index and middle fingers. While using this expression, the participants hit each acupuncture area seven times. After the first round of hits accompanied by this phrase, participants were asked to abbreviate "this feeling of anxiety, stress" with another short phrase. The participants then repeated rounds of this process until they noticed that their anxiety had decreased
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Emotional Freedom Technique Group | Experimental | Nurses (40) enrolled in the emotional freedom technique group will receive a total of 4 rounds of EFT, 50 minutes, 3 days a week. Receives: Behavioral: Emotional Freedom Technique |
| Control | No intervention | Participants in the control group (n= 40) will not receive intervention throughout the study. |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Spielberger state-trait anxiety scale
While the Trait Anxiety Inventory aims to determine how the individual feels independently of the situation and conditions, the State Anxiety Inventory aims to determine how the individual feels at a certain moment and under certain conditions. Both subscales are four-point Likert-type scales consisting of twenty items. In the State Anxiety Inventory, the individual is asked to evaluate how he or she feels at the moment, according to the situation he is in, and to choose one of the expressions "1-not at all, 2-somewhat, 3-a lot and 4-completely" according to the severity of the emotions or behaviors expressed in the items. The highest score of 4 is given for choosing the phrase "completely", and the lowest score is 1 for choosing the phrase "not at all".
Measured: 4 months
Secondary outcomes (1)
SUE (Subjective Units of Experience) Scale
The SUE (Subjective Experience Unit) scale evaluates the energy flow in the energy body. Emotions provide information about the state of the energy body. It is a simplified form of the stress table and measures the level of emotion experienced by the person. It was created by Hartman (2009) with the "Event Psychology" approach.
The scores obtained on the SUE scale provide concrete and basic data about the current state of the person and after EFT, and show how there will be a change in this process. On the scale from "-10" to "+10", the person rates the anxiety or distress he feels. On this scale from -10 to +10; If the mood of the person is "-10", it is evaluated as very bad/negative, "0" as neutral, and "+10" as positive. Frustration, greatest pain, anxiety, fear or discomfort in the minds of -10 people is defined as the highest level of happiness, joy or feeling very well of the individual
Measured: 4 months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted7 Mar 2023
- Study start2 Mar 2022
- Primary completion25 Sep 2022
- Study completion1 Jun 2023 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for EFTsStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Marmara UniversityThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Double blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Care provider
- Enrolment
- 100 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Marmara University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, gulsah okut, Marmara University
- Investigators
- Şule Ecevit Alpar, Phd, Study director, Marmara University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05758636
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- MrmrU
- Status last verified
- Mar 2023
- First submitted
- 4 Mar 2023
- Last updated
- 7 Mar 2023
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 7 Mar 2023. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- The Effect of Emotional Freedom Technique on Anxiety Levels of Nurses Who Care for COVID19 Patients During the Pandemic Process
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05758636
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- MrmrU
- Conditions
- EFTs, Nursing Caries, Anxiety
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Unknown status
- Enrolment
- 100 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Marmara UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 2 Mar 2022 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 25 Sep 2022 (actual)
- Study completion
- 1 Jun 2023 (estimated)
- First posted
- 7 Mar 2023 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
It is very important to protect and improve the physical, mental and social health of nurses, especially in the event that nurses frequently encounter patients diagnosed or suspected of COVID-19 and are exposed to the virus for a long time due to the long duration of care, increasing cases and the death of their colleagues. Que et al., 2020). Current researches have made it necessary for nurses to have difficulties in effectively coping with the anxiety experienced in the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected the whole world, and to apply new effective methods, as their training includes effective coping methods (Feinstein and Church, 2010). There are studies that are effective in reducing stress and anxiety, such as meditation, yoga, and breathing therapies, which are recommended to prevent the increase in stress and anxiety levels that may occur in nurses by evaluating the experienced situations (Labrague et al., 2020; Vieta et al., 2020). In addition to these applications, it is seen that Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) has been increasingly used recently in controlling and reducing anxiety (Hartmann, 2016). EFT is a type of energy-based psychotherapy that combines the components of Western psychology and Eastern medicine, applied to eliminate negative thoughts and feelings and problems related to emotions (İnangil et al., 2020; Church, 2013). Although the EFT technique is used in many different areas today, its effect on the level of anxiety in nurses during the COVID-19 process is not yet known. As a result, to evaluate the effect of EFT, whose positive results have been proven by many studies, on the anxiety level of nurses caring for COVID-19 patients.
Detailed description
It is very important to protect and improve the physical, mental and social health of nurses in the event that they are exposed to the virus for a long time due to the frequent encounters with patients diagnosed or suspected of COVID-19 and the long duration of care, increasing cases and the death of their colleagues (Que et al., 2020). Current researches have made it necessary for nurses to have difficulties in effectively coping with the anxiety experienced in the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected the whole world, and to apply new effective methods, as their training includes effective coping methods (Feinstein and Church, 2010). It is very important to protect and improve the physical, mental and social health of nurses, especially in the event that nurses frequently encounter patients diagnosed or suspected of COVID-19 and are exposed to the virus for a long time due to the long duration of care, increasing cases and the death of their colleagues. Que et al., 2020). Current researches have made it necessary for nurses to have difficulties in effectively coping with the anxiety experienced in the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected the whole world, and to apply new effective methods, as their training includes effective coping methods (Feinstein and Church, 2010). There are studies that are effective in reducing stress and anxiety, such as meditation, yoga, and breathing therapies, which are recommended to prevent the increase in stress and anxiety levels that may occur in nurses by evaluating the experienced situations (Labrague et al., 2020; Vieta et al., 2020). In addition to these applications, it is seen that Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) has been increasingly used recently in controlling and reducing anxiety (Hartmann, 2016). EFT is a type of energy-based psychotherapy that combines the components of Western psychology and Eastern medicine, applied to eliminate negative thoughts and feelings and problems related to emotions (İnangil et al., 2020; Church, 2013). In the process of providing effective care to COVID-19 cases, nurses fulfill the requirements of their profession with their ability to anticipate some unforeseen problems created by the workplace environment and to solve these problems. Due to the challenging process that emerged with the pandemic, the treatment and care of their patients, as well as meeting many urgent needs, left nurses in a difficult situation (Labrague et al., 2020; Vieta et al., 2020). It is very important that nurses, who provide services effectively and in a competitive way during the pandemic, can protect their physical, mental and social health (Chirico et al., 2020). Although the EFT technique is used in many different areas today, its effect on the level of anxiety in nurses during the COVID-19 process is not yet known. As a result, to evaluate the effect of EFT, whose positive results have been proven by many studies, on the anxiety level of nurses caring for CO
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Double blind (participant, care provider)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Emotional Freedom Technique Group | Experimental | Behavioral: Emotional Freedom TechniqueNurses (40) enrolled in the emotional freedom technique group will receive a total of 4 rounds of EFT, 50 minutes, 3 days a week. |
| Control | No intervention | –Participants in the control group (n= 40) will not receive intervention throughout the study. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (5 listed)
- not having been diagnosed with a psychiatric diagnosis,
- not having received any therapy including coping with stress
- not being diagnosed with COVID-19
- not being in the treatment care process
- not having applied the emotional freedom technique before, and volunteering to participate
Key exclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Not participating in any of the emotional freedom technique sessions
- Being diagnosed with COVID-19 during the application of therapy
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Emotional Freedom TechniqueBefore starting the EFT session, the participants were asked to identify the problem that aroused their anxiety. After the common point of the problems was determined, the ORDS level of all participants was determined. Next, the EFT session explained traditional acupressure meridian points on the head, face, neck, chest, and hands. Next, they were asked to repeat the phrase, "Even though I have this feeling of stress and anxiety, I accept myself deeply and completely," while gently applying to the acupuncture points with their index and middle fingers. While using this expression, the participants hit each acupuncture area seven times. After the first round of hits accompanied by this phrase, participants were asked to abbreviate "this feeling of anxiety, stress" with another short phrase. The participants then repeated rounds of this process until they noticed that their anxiety had decreased | Behavioural | Emotional Freedom Technique Group |
Primary outcome
Spielberger state-trait anxiety scale
Time frame: 4 months
While the Trait Anxiety Inventory aims to determine how the individual feels independently of the situation and conditions, the State Anxiety Inventory aims to determine how the individual feels at a certain moment and under certain conditions. Both subscales are four-point Likert-type scales consisting of twenty items. In the State Anxiety Inventory, the individual is asked to evaluate how he or she feels at the moment, according to the situation he is in, and to choose one of the expressions "1-not at all, 2-somewhat, 3-a lot and 4-completely" according to the severity of the emotions or behaviors expressed in the items. The highest score of 4 is given for choosing the phrase "completely", and the lowest score is 1 for choosing the phrase "not at all".
1 secondary outcome
SUE (Subjective Units of Experience) Scale
Time frame: 4 months
Results and safety
Results are not available in the source record.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 7 Mar 2023.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
Related trials for EFTs
Not yet recruiting
Fatigue, Anxiety, and Mother-Baby Bonding and Emotional Freedom Technique
Puerperium, EFTs
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Şule Ecevit Alpar, Phd study director
Marmara University
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Emotional Freedom Technique in people with EFTs and Nursing Caries, run by Marmara University at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye).
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: status not confirmed, as of the sponsor's last update on 7 Mar 2023. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye). Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
Results are not available in the source record.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Spielberger state-trait anxiety scale (time frame: 4 months). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 7 Mar 2023; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 8 Nov 2026.