STRESS ball use in patients receiving haemodialysis has measurable benefits on sleep, stress and comfort levels according to a new Turkish Study.
Stress balls and Haemodialysis
There are various physiological, psychological and social challenges associated with haemodialysis treatment. This study aimed to determine whether the mitigation of these challenges could be achieved through stress ball use. Specifically, researchers assessed sleep, stress and comfort levels.
Researchers performed a single-blind randomized controlled trial with 57 patients on haemodialysis in western Türkiye. Intervention with the stress ball involved 12 sessions of use three times a week, each for 15 minutes. Standard haemodialysis treatment was given to the control group.
To determine the effects of stress ball use on sleep, stress and comfort, data was collected using a Patient Assessment Form, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and Hemodialysis Comfort Scale Version II (HDCS-II).
Benefits of Stress Ball Use
Between the experimental and control group, there was no significant difference in pre-test PSS scores (p>0.05), however, the experimental group demonstrated significantly lower post-test PSS scores (p<0.05).
Within-group analysis revealed a significant decrease in Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores in the experimental group (p<0.05), indicating improved sleep quality, while no significant change was observed in the control group. The experimental group also showed significant improvements in overall HDCS-II scores and several comfort-related subscales, whereas the control group improved only in the sociocultural relaxation subscale (p<0.05). However, no significant between-group differences were found in HDCS-II scores.
Conclusion
The results from this study showed that stress ball use in patients on haemodialysis reduced stress levels, improved quality of sleep and enhanced comfort. From this, it can be reasonably inferred that the use of stress balls positively contributes these three factors in patients on haemodialysis.
Importantly, this study highlights how easy to implement, cost effective strategies can be integrated into nursing procedures to improve patient welfare.
Researchers called for further studies to be undertaken using different sample groups to further assert whether the use of stress balls provide the aforementioned benefits for patients on haemodialysis.
Reference
Kacaroglu Vicdan and Gibyeli Genek D. The effect of stress ball use on stress, sleep quality, and comfort in individuals receiving haemodialysis: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Complement Med Ther. 2026; DOI:10.1186/s12906-026-05429-9.
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