Reducing stress and overload, and improving the quality of life for caregivers of neurological patients through auriculotherapy

Abstract

Introduction: Auriculotherapy is a therapeutic practice of Chinese medicine that involves stimulating specific points on the ear to promote balance and health in the body. Objective: To describe the effects of auriculotherapy on stress levels, burden, and quality of life (QoL) of caregivers of neurological patients. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted in a physiotherapy teaching clinic with caregivers over 18 years of age. The intervention protocol consisted of auriculotherapy sessions, once a week, for 20 minutes, over four weeks, through the application of mustard seeds to the anatomical points Shenmen, kidneys and sympathetic nervous system, anxiety, tension points, and pain regions. Stress levels were analyzed using the Perceived Exertion Scale-10, caregiver burden using the Zarit scale, and QoL using the SF-8™ Health Survey questionnaire. Fisher's exact test and paired t-test were applied, with p-values ​​≤0.05 considered significant. Results: Thirty-five caregivers were included, with a mean age of 49.75±12.3 years and a predominance of females (97%). Significant reductions were observed in severe burden scores (49% versus 23%, p=0.008) and perceived stress levels (20.28±4.5 versus 18.45±2.7, p=0.03), and a significant increase (p=0.0001) in the physical (11.85±3.6 versus 15.14±2.7) and mental (11.82±2.6 versus 15.21±1.8) health components of QoL, when comparing before and after the application of the auriculotherapy protocol. Conclusion: In this study, auriculotherapy appears to have reduced stress and burden levels and impacted the physical and mental aspects of QoL in caregivers of neurological patients. However, a two-arm clinical trial is needed to prove this effectiveness.