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The effectiveness of a self‐administered acupressure intervention in caregivers of Alzheimer's disease patients: A systematic review
Author(s) -
Almeida Jose Roberto,
Almeida Maysa Cunha,
Cunha Maria Eduarda,
Silva Ana Gabriela Correia
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1002/alz.037536
Subject(s) - acupressure , medicine , psychological intervention , anxiety , psychosocial , disease , cochrane library , intervention (counseling) , medline , dementia , adverse effect , acupuncture , physical therapy , clinical psychology , psychiatry , alternative medicine , randomized controlled trial , surgery , pathology , political science , law
Background Caregiving for people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is highly stressful and has significant negative consequences, such as anxiety and depression. Although a variety of pharmacological and psychosocial interventions have been developed to alleviate caregiver stress, there is a need to find interventions that are effective and acceptable to caregivers. Acupressure, defined as an application of pressure an acupoints using the hands, fingers or thumbs, is a non invasive technique based on the meridian theory of traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). TCM theory holds that meridians, which are channels in a network of energy pathways through the body, regulate the flow of QI (vital energy) and the unbalanced flow of QI results in disease. By applying external pressure to acupoints and has been successfully used for management of multiple symptoms without adverse effects. Method A systematic review was undertaken using the Cochrane library and Medline reporting guidelines. twenty six databases and relevant websites were searched. Two reviewers appraised the quality of the studies and carried out data extraction. Result Many studies showed that caregivers are at risk of emotional, mental and physical health problems. Fatigue is often the initial and most difficult problem resulting from the stressful caregiving process and leads to sleep disturbance, anxiety and depression. The emotional and physical strain of caregiving and its adverse impact on family caregivers health and well‐being is recognized as a serious public health problem. Studies have reported positive effects and safety of self‐administration acupressure for this symptoms. This technique has a number of advantages including flexibility, low cost and empowerment. Conclusion This results provide evidence for the effectiveness of self‐administered acupressure in reduce stress and improving symptoms of fatigue, insomnia, depression and health‐related quality of life in caregivers of people with AD. It is necessary to provide support to caregivers, to enhance caregivers' feelings of positive emotions. Acupressure may be useful for treatment intervention and thus reduces caregivers anxiety and depression.