| Objective: To assess the effectiveness of a standardized protocol of acupressure for women aged between 18 and 60 years with urodynamic stress incontinence.;Design: A randomized, single-blinded, placebo-controlled trial was employed.;Participants: Eighty-one women were randomly assigned to an intervention (acupressure) group (n = 27), sham (sham acupressure) group (n = 27), or control (usual care) group (n = 27). All of the participants were required to undergo pelvic floor training. The participants in the intervention group underwent a course of acupressure based on a validated standardized protocol.;Intervention: A validated standardized protocol of acupressure was developed. The intervention comprised three half-hour sessions per week for a total of thirty sessions.;Results: There was a significant difference in pelvic floor muscle strength across the three groups (H = 7.05, p = 0.03), and between the intervention and sham groups (Z = -2.31, p = 0.02) and the intervention and control groups (Z = - 2.25, p = 0.02). There was a significant difference in self-reported severity of urine leakage between the intervention and control groups (Z = - 2.48, p = 0.01) after intervention. In the intervention group, all of the selected outcome measures were found to have undergone a significant relative improvement after intervention. There was a significant mean paired difference in all of the domains of the quality of life among all three groups before and after intervention, with positive improvements in the group undergoing acupressure.;Conclusion: Acupressure is a simple and non-invasive intervention that appears to have positive physiological and psychological effects on women with USI. Nurses are in the best position to identify the needs of women with this distressing health problem. The findings point to the possibility of including acupressure as an intervention option for managing USI in women. As acupressure is non-invasive in nature, nurses should consider extending its therapeutic use in existing healthcare services. |
