An Intervention to Enhance Mental and Physical Health of Nursing Students
Date
2022-09
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Abstract
Nursing students exhibit some of the highest symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress relative to students in other health-related disciplines and to their counterparts outside of university. Up to 50% of nursing students are sedentary, compromising their physical health and exacerbating risk for musculoskeletal injury. Yoga has been associated with improved mental and physical health in a variety of populations. With the ORBIT Model as a guide to implementation, the first manuscript in this thesis consists of a systematic review exploring existing evidence of the effectiveness of yoga interventions for healthcare professionals and students (design phase, Phase I). This evidence was then used to plan and optimize protocol details for Phases IIa and IIb. The process of undertaking a web-based yoga intervention was explored in a proof-of-concept study (Phase II a). After protocol refinement, a pilot study was conducted (Phase II b), and is described in the second manuscript. All 68 participants who completed the pilot study exhibited a significant decrease in symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, and improved self-compassion and core endurance scores. While significant mental and physical health benefits following yoga intervention were demonstrated in this sample, 44% attrition rates were encountered during the course of the pilot study. Thus, retention challenges were explored and recommendations for further refinement and protocol optimization were the focus of the third manuscript.
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Keywords
nursing students, physical health, mental health, yoga
Citation
Ciezar Andersen, S. (2022). An intervention to enhance mental and physical health of nursing students (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.