Evidence-based research is critical for the continuous development of strategies used to manage pain and treat medical conditions. Thus, a relevant and well-built research question can guide researchers in investigating the critical aspects of illnesses and how they respond to particular interventions. The proposed PICO (T) question is “in post-operative patients, what is the effect of emotional freedom techniques (EFT) in post-surgical pain reduction compared to a control group without the intervention after the first few days?” Thus, this essay examines whether the qualitative research article “Effectiveness of emotional freedom technique tapping and acupressure on post-operative pain reduction among post-operative clients” by Padmapriya & Jenifer (2020) answers this question. The explanation supports that the researchers are successful in answering the PICO (T) question as their evidence points to clear and definite results regarding the reliability of the intervention.
Over the years, non-pharmacological solutions have proved effective in managing pain and conditions associated with various illnesses. Thus, emotional freedom techniques like acupuncture and acupressure are widely adopted to deal with pain. The research by Padmapriya & Jenifer (2020) sought to investigate whether EFT solutions are effective in pain management in postoperative patients. As a result, the researchers performed a quantitative quasi-experiment comprised of 60 post-operative medical clients assigned to an experimental and control group, each with 30 individuals (Padmapriya & Jenifer, 2020). The researchers then collected the participants’ surgical variables and demographic data, allowing the study to commence the next step. The next stage involved a pre-test conducted three hours after the surgeries to assess the intensity levels of pain in both the experimental and control groups.
The researchers then conducted a post-test on the third day after surgery and assessed the intensity of pain using a numerical pain scale. The analysis suggests that during the pre-test, 93.3% of individuals in the experimental group experienced high levels of pain, and 6.67% had moderate pain levels. After the intervention, 80% did not feel any pain, and (20%) experienced mild levels of pain (Padmapriya & Jenifer, 2020). On the other hand, 86.7% of patients in the control group had severe post-operative pain and 13.3% had moderate post-operative pain during the pre-test, while 83.3% had severe pain levels during the post-test and 16.7% felt moderate pain (Padmapriya & Jenifer, 2020). Therefore, the obtained results revealed that individuals in the experimental group experienced a significant decrease in pain intensity after the emotional freedom techniques interventions than the control group.
A PICO (T) question comprises the basic elements of clinical studies, including a population, proposed intervention, comparison to placebo tests or another intervention, an outcome, and a timeline. Subsequently, the article by Padmapriya & Jenifer (2020) clearly describes all these elements and the steps taken to achieve the given results. Post-operative patients suffer from high discomfort which is aggravated by the intense pain they experience. Therefore, non-pharmacological solutions to managing post-operative pain are critical as it minimizes the risk of adversities. The researchers suggest that emotional freedom techniques are adopted in various pain management initiatives due to their efficiency and effectiveness. Hence, they propose its application in post-surgical patients due to its high levels of success as shown by their research. Nevertheless, they are successful in answering the question of whether these solutions are reliable in managing paints in post-operative patients, which can guide clinicians in making more informed decisions.
Reference
Padmapriya, D., & Jenifer, B.S. (2020). Effectiveness of emotional freedom technique tapping an acupressure on post-operative pain reduction among post-operative clients. Drug Invention Today, 1046-1050.