Reducing Anxiety and Improving Engagement in Health Care Providers Through an Auricular Acupuncture Intervention
Buchanan TM, Reilly PM, Vafides C, Dykes P · Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing · 2018 March
DOI 10.1097/DCC.0000000000000288
Objective
To investigate the effect of auricular acupuncture on reducing provider anxiety and improving work engagement among health care providers.
Conclusions
Auricular acupuncture, following the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association protocol, significantly reduced both state and trait anxiety levels as measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. There were also significant improvements in overall work engagement scores, particularly in the dedication subcategory, as measured by the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9). These findings suggest that auricular acupuncture could be an effective strategy to enhance work engagement by alleviating anxiety among health care providers.
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