Saveetha College of Physiotherapy, Saveetha Institute of Medical & Technical Sciences, Chennai, India.
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, INTI International University Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia.
Work. 2024;78(4):1149-1156. doi: 10.3233/WOR-231362.
Healthcare workers (HCWs) have been significantly impacted by the pandemic. Elderly health care workers carry out a variety of duties at work and have years of clinical expertise. Anxiety and insomnia are among the more commonly encountered problems in senior physicians and other geriatric medical professional populations.
The study aims to determine the effect of vagal nerve stimulation on anxiety and sleep disturbances among geriatric medical professionals.
42 participants were enrolled in this study based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The participants were divided into two groups using the closed envelope approach, and they took part in therapy sessions lasting 30 minutes, three times per week for a period of four weeks. The Experimental group A received non-invasive transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation (taVNS) and Control group A received Jacobson's progressive muscle relaxation technique.
With a p value of 0.001, taVNS stimulation significantly improved sleep quality and reduced anxiety after 4 weeks. The post-intervention assessment revealed a highly significant improvement in Group A, with a T value of 251 (p < 0.001).
The findings suggest that taVNS may be an effective intervention for addressing anxiety and sleep issues in geriatric medical professionals. These results contribute to the exploration of non-invasive strategies to enhance the well-being of healthcare professionals working in demanding environments.
医护人员（HCWs）受到了疫情的严重影响。老年医护人员在工作中执行各种任务，拥有多年的临床专业知识。焦虑和失眠是老年医生和其他老年医学专业人群中较常见的问题。
本研究旨在确定迷走神经刺激对老年医学专业人员焦虑和睡眠障碍的影响。
根据纳入和排除标准，本研究纳入了 42 名参与者。参与者采用闭信封法分为两组，他们参加了为期四周的每周三次、每次 30 分钟的治疗。实验组 A 接受非侵入性经皮耳迷走神经刺激（taVNS），对照组 A 接受雅各布森渐进性肌肉松弛技术。
p 值为 0.001，taVNS 刺激在 4 周后显著改善了睡眠质量和降低了焦虑。干预后评估显示，A 组有显著改善，T 值为 251（p<0.001）。
这些发现表明，taVNS 可能是一种有效的干预措施，可用于解决老年医学专业人员的焦虑和睡眠问题。这些结果有助于探索非侵入性策略，以增强在高要求环境中工作的医疗保健专业人员的幸福感。
