Efficacy of Su Jok Seed Therapy in Migraine: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Study.

INTRODUCTION: Migraine is an important health problem that negatively affects individuals' activities of daily living. The decrease in the quality of life because of migraine increases the need for the development of new pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatment methods for pain management. Limited studies have reported the application of a traditional therapy, such as Su Jok seed therapy, to prevent or minimize migraine. This study aimed to examine the effect of Su Jok seed therapy on the severity, duration, and frequency of headaches in patients with migraine. METHODS: The study was conducted between September 2020 and February 2021 with 47 students diagnosed with migraine. Of these, 24 patients were included in the intervention group and 23 in the placebo control group. Data were collected using a patient information form developed by the researchers, a migraine diary, the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), and the Headache Impact Test-6 (HIT-6) questionnaire. Each patient in the intervention and placebo groups received eight sessions of Su Jok seed therapy, twice a week for 4 weeks. Data were evaluated at the 30th, 60th, and 120th min of the therapy using NPRS, before the therapy (pretest), after the therapy (posttest), and 4 weeks after the therapy (follow-up) using a migraine diary and the HIT-6 questionnaire. RESULTS: Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation/standard error, and percentages) were used for data analysis. Student's t, Mann-Whitney U, repeated-measures analysis of variance, Bonferroni, Friedman, Dunn-Bonferroni, and χ2 tests were used in this study. Significance was set at p < 0.05. After the administration of Su Jok seed therapy, the difference in mean NPRS scores between the groups was significant (p < 0.05) from the 60th min of the administration. Furthermore, a significant decrease was observed in the severity, duration, and frequency of headaches; the HIT-6 questionnaire scores; and the amount of painkillers consumed by the patients in the intervention group after the therapy and in the follow-up period compared with the pretest data. Additionally, the level of satisfaction of the patients in the intervention group was significantly higher after the therapy than that of those in the placebo group. CONCLUSION: Su Jok seed therapy reduced the severity, duration, and frequency of migraines, which in turn reduced the amount of painkillers consumed and the HIT-6 scores of patients with migraines.

Effect of an aged simulation suit on nursing students' attitudes and empathy.

PURPOSE: Today, with an increasingly older population, it is essential to have well-educated and well-prepared nurses who can meet the health-related needs of geriatric patients but in some cases students have difficulty in understanding and empathizing with older persons. The impact of use of an aged simulation suit on the empathy and attitudes of nursing students towards older persons was investigated in this study. METHODS: A descriptive mixed-methods study was conducted, using the Basic Empathy Scale, The Kogan's Attitude towards Old People Scale, and semi-structured interviews. RESULTS: The Kogan's Attitude towards Old People Scale mean scores and the Basic Empathy Scale mean scores showed that there was a statistically significant increase in the empathy and attitude scores of students from the high-score group after they had carried out tasks using an aged simulation suit. A total of four themes were determined through data analysis. CONCLUSION: The use of an aged simulation suit proved to be an effective educational technique which made a positive contribution towards nursing students' development of empathy and also made a positive change in their attitude towards older persons.

A comparison of three different diabetes screening methods among dental patients in Turkey.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to describe the frequency of diabetes in dental patients, and to compare three different screening methods: the random finger plasma glucose (RFPG) test, the Finnish diabetes risk score (FINDRISC) survey and a special clinical guideline developed for dental patients. METHODS: The study design was cross-sectional, descriptive and comparative. The data were collected between August 2011 and February 2012. A total of 702 dental patients participated in this study. The screening tools were RFPG, FINDRISC and a clinical guideline. Data were analyzed using the Chi-squared test, the t test, analysis of variance, and the Pearson correlation test. RESULTS: The frequency of diabetes was 8.3% for the participants. The prevalence of participants at risk for undiagnosed diabetes was 20.1% according to the RFPG test, 29.9% according to the FINDRISC, and 29.8% according to the clinical guideline. Correlation analysis showed a significant positive correlation between the screening methods (p<0.001 for each). CONCLUSION: The overall frequency of diabetes was 8.3%. It was found that the three screening methods used in this study were statistically similar. However, FINDRISC and clinical guideline as the questionnaire screening tools indicated a little larger group than RFPG with respect to diabetes risk.