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Feasibility of Body Acupuncture for Stress, Burnout, Sleep Quality and Wellbeing: A Pilot Study
Sponsor: Swiss University for Traditional Chinese Medicine
Summary
This pilot study investigates the acceptability and effects of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) body acupuncture on stress and exhaustion among healthcare professionals working in an acute care hospital. Participants will receive acupuncture twice a week for four weeks, with a total of eight treatment sessions. Stress, burnout, sleep quality, and general wellbeing will be assessed before and after the intervention and at follow-up. The study will also assess participants' satisfaction with the intervention and their willingness to participate again or recommend acupuncture to others. In addition, the feasibility of conducting the study will be evaluated, including recruitment, adherence to the treatment schedule, organizational feasibility, and completeness and quality of the collected data. The findings will help determine whether a larger clinical study of TCM body acupuncture in healthcare professionals is feasible and warranted.
Official title: Pilot Study on the Acceptability and Effects of Acupuncture on Stress and Exhaustion Among Healthcare Professionals at an Acute Care Hospital
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - Any
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
20
Start Date
2026-12
Completion Date
2027-06
Last Updated
2026-09-14
Healthy Volunteers
No
Interventions
Traditional Chinese Medicine Body Acupuncture
Participants are assigned to one of two predefined treatment pathways based on standardized TCM syndrome differentiation, primarily using pulse diagnosis and TCM history, with tongue diagnosis when required. Participants with predominantly stress-related symptoms receive a stress-oriented dispersing protocol, while those with predominantly exhaustion-related symptoms receive an exhaustion-oriented tonifying protocol. In mixed presentations, assignment follows predefined diagnostic criteria, primarily based on pulse findings. Both pathways use predefined acupuncture point combinations, with individualized adjustments permitted within the assigned pathway. Switching between pathways is not planned. The stress-oriented pathway uses 17 needles and the exhaustion-oriented pathway 16 needles.
Locations (1)
Spital Uster AG
Uster, Uster, Switzerland