PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of auricular acupressure on pruritus and fatigue in hemodialysis patients.
METHODS
The study design was a randomized control group pre-post test. Initially, forty- four patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups. There was a loss of three participants assigned to the treatment group. The period of data collection was from December 2014 to March 2015. Both groups completed a pre-test. The treatment group received auricular acupressure once a week for ten weeks. Data were collected from the treatment group at two time periods: five weeks and ten weeks following initiation of the treatment protocol. Data were collected from the control group at week 5 and week 10. Data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 21.0 program, specifically with the independent t-test and the Repeated Measures of ANOVA.
RESULTS
Auricular acupressure was effective in reducing pruritus (F=13.93, p<.001) and fatigue (F=18.33, p<.001).
CONCLUSION
Auricular acupressure is a non-invasive simple method that can be used for the relief of symptoms reported by hemodialysis patients. This treatment modality could be used in several clinical areas.

Citations

• Effects of Auricular Acupressure on Nurses’ Perceived Stress, Sleep Quality, and Presenteeism
  Hyunseo Sim, Younghee Park
  Holistic Nursing Practice.2025; 39(1): 15.     CrossRef
• Hemodiyaliz Hastalarının Semptom Yönetiminde Aurikuloterapi Kullanımı: Geleneksel Derleme
  Mehmet Aytemur, Özlem Ceyhan, Sultan Taşci
  Mersin Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Lokman Hekim Tıp Tarihi ve Folklorik Tıp Dergisi.2025; 15(2): 451.     CrossRef
• Effectiveness of Acupressure for Fatigue Alleviation in Patients Receiving Hemodialysis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
  Kai-Mei CHANG, Debby Syahru ROMADLON, Pin-Yuan CHEN, Faizul HASAN, Shu-Liu GUO, Hsiao-Yean CHIU
  Journal of Nursing Research.2024; 32(3): e334.     CrossRef
• The Effects of Auricular Acupressure on Pruritus, Skin Dryness, and Depression in Hemodialysis Patients
  Eunyoung Choi, Kyungsook Park
  Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing.2024; 31(1): 69.     CrossRef
• Effect of auricular acupressure on postpartum blues: A randomized sham controlled trial
  Zainab Alimoradi, Somayeh Asgari, Sanaz Barghamadi, Hamideh Hajnasiri, Terry Oleson, Mark D. Griffiths
  Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice.2023; 52: 101762.     CrossRef
• Effects of an arteriovenous fistula stenosis prevention program in patients receiving hemodialysis
  Haegyeong Lee, Gyuli Baek, Eunju Lee
  Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives.2023; 14(4): 279.     CrossRef
• Effects of Hand Acupressure on Sleep Quality and Pruritus in Patients on Hemodialysis
  Yeo Ju Kim, Hyojung Park
  Korean Journal of Adult Nursing.2020; 32(6): 610.     CrossRef
• Effect of Auricular Acupressure on Sleep and Pruritus in Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis
  Yun Yi Bang, Hyojung Park
  Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing.2020; 27(2): 141.     CrossRef