López-Del-Hoyo, Y., Fernández-Martínez, S., Pérez-Aranda, A., Barceló-Soler, A., Bani, M., Russo, S. et al. · Journal of Clinical Nursing · 2023
Of 22 eHealth interventions identified, 13 produced significant posttreatment reductions in healthcare professionals' stress levels (9 self-guided, 8 'third wave' psychotherapies), with significant effects also found for depression, anxiety, burnout, resilience, and mindfulness.
If digital, self-guided stress tools generally work as well as this review suggests, it points toward burned-out nurses and doctors — who often can't spare time for in-person therapy mid-shift — one day having access to something like a tapping app they could use in a supply closet between patients. Tapping's self-administered nature is what would make an app like that actually usable: no clinician on the other end, no appointment, just a technique the worker already knows how to do themselves.
This review covers eHealth stress tools broadly, so the natural next step is isolating app-delivered tapping specifically for healthcare workers and pairing self-reported stress and burnout scores with objective markers — cortisol rhythm across a shift, heart-rate variability, and inflammatory markers linked to chronic occupational stress. A trial embedded directly in hospital shift schedules, rather than requiring dedicated time off the floor, would test whether a tool like this actually gets used when staff are at their most depleted.
| Design | Systematic review |
|---|---|
| Participants | 22 studies pooled |
| Population | healthcare professionals |
| Comparison group | guided vs. self-guided; third-wave psychotherapies vs. other types |
| Outcome measures | stress reduction measures, depressive symptomatology, anxiety, burnout, resilience, mindfulness |
| Journal | Journal of Clinical Nursing |
| Year | 2023 |
| Country | Spain |
| Language | English |
| Method | EFT / tapping |
| Publication type | Review or meta-analysis |
| Verification | ✓ Confirmed against the primary source |
López-Del-Hoyo, Y., Fernández-Martínez, S., Pérez-Aranda, A., Barceló-Soler, A., Bani, M., Russo, S., Urcola-Pardo, F., Strepparava, M. G., & García-Campayo, J. (2023). Effects of eHealth interventions on stress reduction and mental health promotion in healthcare professionals: A systematic review. Journal of Clinical Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.16634
This record is part of the Tapping Evidence Base — an openly-sourced, fully-referenced directory of the research on EFT/tapping. Explore more studies on Burnout & Work Stress · Stress & Cortisol · Depression · Anxiety
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