TY - JOUR
T1 - Self-Administered Acupressure for Caregivers of Older Family Members
T2 - A Randomized Controlled Trial
AU - Cheung, Denise Shuk Ting
AU - Tiwari, Agnes
AU - Yeung, Wing Fai
AU - Yu, Doris Sau Fung
AU - So, Mike Ka Pui
AU - Chau, Pui Hing
AU - Wang, Xiao Min
AU - Lum, Terry Yat Sang
AU - Yuk Fung, Helina Yin King
AU - Ng, Benson Yuk Ming
AU - Zhang, Zhang Jin
AU - Lao, Lixing
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank all participants for taking part in the study. We thank the full-time research assistants for helping with the data collection and student research assistants for delivering the intervention. All were compensated for their work. We thank the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Lady MacLehose Centre, Ho Hong Neighbourhood Centre for Senior Citizens (sponsored by Sik Yuen), St. James? Settlement Central and Western District Elderly Community Centre, St. James? Project Care Neighbourhood Elderly Centre, Asbury Methodist Social Service, Haven of Hope Bradbury King Lam Community Health Development Centre, Hong Kong Federation of Women?s Centres, Yang Memorial Methodist Social Service, and Caritas Community Centre?Ngau Tau Kok for providing assistance in recruitment and space for study sites. Prof Lao and Dr Cheung had full access to all the data in the study, and they take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. This study was supported by the Health and Medical Research Fund, Food and Health Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (project 13143191). The authors have no conflicts. Study concept and design: Cheung, Tiwari, Yeung, Yu, So, Wang, Lum, Yuk Fung, Zhang, and Lao. Acquisition of data: Cheung, Yu, Yuk Fung, and Ng. Analysis and interpretation of data: Cheung, So, and Chau. Drafting of the manuscript: Cheung, Tiwari, Yeung, Chau, and Lao. Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: Cheung, Tiwari, Yeung, Yu, So, Chau, Wang, Lum, Yuk Fung, Ng, Zhang, and Lao. The funding organization had no role in the study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing of the article. Institutional Review Board of The University of Hong Kong/Hospital Authority Hong Kong West Cluster (HKU/HA HKW IRB: UW15-367), June 29, 2015.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The American Geriatrics Society
PY - 2020/6/1
Y1 - 2020/6/1
N2 - OBJECTIVE: To test whether self-administered acupressure reduces stress and stress-related symptoms in caregivers of older family members. DESIGN: In this randomized, assessor-blind, controlled trial, 207 participants were randomized (1:1) to an acupressure intervention or a wait-list control group. SETTING: Community centers in Hong Kong, China. PARTICIPANTS: Primary caregivers of an older family member who screened positive for caregiver stress with symptoms of fatigue, insomnia, or depression. INTERVENTION: The 8-week intervention comprised four training sessions on self-administered acupressure, two follow-up sessions for learning reinforcement, and daily self-practice of self-administered acupressure. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome was caregiver stress (Caregiver Burden Inventory). Secondary outcomes included fatigue (Piper Fatigue Scale), insomnia (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire), and health-related quality of life (QoL) (12-item Short-Form Health Survey version 2). An intention-to-treat analysis was adopted. RESULTS: Of 207 participants, 201 completed the study. Caregiver stress in the intervention group was significantly lower than that in the control group after 8 weeks (difference = −8.12; 95% confidence interval [CI] = −13.20 to −3.04; P =.002) and at 12-week follow-up (difference = −8.52; 95% CI = −13.91 to −3.12; P =.002). The intervention group, relative to the control group, also had significantly improved secondary outcomes of fatigue (difference = −0.84; 95% CI = −1.59 to −0.08; P =.031), insomnia (difference = −1.34; 95% CI = −2.40 to −0.27; P =.014), depression (difference = −1.76; 95% CI = −3.30 to −0.23; P =.025), and physical health-related QoL (difference = 3.08; 95% CI = 0.28-5.88; P =.032) after 8 weeks. CONCLUSION: Self-administered acupressure intervention significantly relieves self-reported caregiver stress and co-occurring symptoms in those caring for older family members. Further studies are needed to measure the symptoms objectively and to examine the clinical importance of the observed improvement in caregiver stress. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:1193–1201, 2020.
AB - OBJECTIVE: To test whether self-administered acupressure reduces stress and stress-related symptoms in caregivers of older family members. DESIGN: In this randomized, assessor-blind, controlled trial, 207 participants were randomized (1:1) to an acupressure intervention or a wait-list control group. SETTING: Community centers in Hong Kong, China. PARTICIPANTS: Primary caregivers of an older family member who screened positive for caregiver stress with symptoms of fatigue, insomnia, or depression. INTERVENTION: The 8-week intervention comprised four training sessions on self-administered acupressure, two follow-up sessions for learning reinforcement, and daily self-practice of self-administered acupressure. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome was caregiver stress (Caregiver Burden Inventory). Secondary outcomes included fatigue (Piper Fatigue Scale), insomnia (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire), and health-related quality of life (QoL) (12-item Short-Form Health Survey version 2). An intention-to-treat analysis was adopted. RESULTS: Of 207 participants, 201 completed the study. Caregiver stress in the intervention group was significantly lower than that in the control group after 8 weeks (difference = −8.12; 95% confidence interval [CI] = −13.20 to −3.04; P =.002) and at 12-week follow-up (difference = −8.52; 95% CI = −13.91 to −3.12; P =.002). The intervention group, relative to the control group, also had significantly improved secondary outcomes of fatigue (difference = −0.84; 95% CI = −1.59 to −0.08; P =.031), insomnia (difference = −1.34; 95% CI = −2.40 to −0.27; P =.014), depression (difference = −1.76; 95% CI = −3.30 to −0.23; P =.025), and physical health-related QoL (difference = 3.08; 95% CI = 0.28-5.88; P =.032) after 8 weeks. CONCLUSION: Self-administered acupressure intervention significantly relieves self-reported caregiver stress and co-occurring symptoms in those caring for older family members. Further studies are needed to measure the symptoms objectively and to examine the clinical importance of the observed improvement in caregiver stress. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:1193–1201, 2020.
KW - complementary and alternative medicine
KW - family caregivers
KW - geriatrics
KW - self-administered acupressure
KW - stress
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85086417190&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/jgs.16357
DO - 10.1111/jgs.16357
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 32096884
AN - SCOPUS:85086417190
SN - 0002-8614
VL - 68
SP - 1193
EP - 1201
JO - Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
JF - Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
IS - 6
ER -