Effect of Acupressure on Pre-Exam Anxiety in Nursing Students.

Background: Academic stress and anxiety are experienced by students as a consequence of examinations.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore whether or not auricular acupressure therapy can reduce exam anxiety, state anxiety and trait anxiety in nursing students.

Methods/Design: A single blinded randomized control trial was designed.

Setting: The study was conducted at one univeristy in Daegu City, South Korea.

Participants: A total of Fifty-eight sophomore nursing students were initially recruited for the study and were randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group (n = 29 each). In the experimental group, 2 participants dropped out and 1 dropped out in the control group before completing the study, resulting in a final count of n = 27 for the experimental group and n = 28 for the control group.

Intervention: Participants in the experimental group received auricular acupressure at the Shen Men point and endocrine point bilaterally, and participants in the control group received the intervention at a sham point bilaterally.

Primary Outcome Measures: Test anxiety levels were rated with the Korean version of the Revised Test anxiety Scale and state-trait anxiety levels were determined with the Korean version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form Y before the intervention and immediately after the examination. Data analysis was performed using the IBM SPSS WIN 25.0 software program.

Results: After controlling for baseline outcome values, auricular acupressure therapy was effective in decreasing the test anxiety level; however, no differences were found in state anxiety or trait anxiety.

Conclusion: Auricular acupressure therapy is effective in reducing test anxiety in students prior to taking an examination.