Yoga for Stress Management in Health Care Personnel

NCT ID: NCT01168648

Last Updated: 2010-07-23

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 71 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2003-08-31
• Study Completion Date: 2005-05-31

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to investigate if yoga can be an effective stress management technique for health care personnel.

Detailed Description

Stress, both job related and personal, is an increasing problem in the health care sector. Yoga is said to have a good stress-reducing effect.

The participants will provide blood, urine, and saliva samples. They will take part in two different stress tests. They will also fill in various qualitative questionnaires, including the Swedish questionnaire on health related quality of life (SWEDQUAL), Antonovsky's sense of coherence scale (KASAM), and the Job stress survey (JSS), both before the study starts and after 3 months of participation.

Conditions

Yoga; Stress, Psychological; Stress, Physiological

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Yoga as stress management

The intervention consists of following a program of yoga at least three times a week for three months. The yoga program has been designed to reduce stress.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Yoga as stress management

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Yoga specially designed to reduce stress is practiced for approximately 30 minutes at least three times a week for three months, once in a group session led by a trained yoga instructor and twice or more at home. The yoga techniques used are physical postures or movements, meditation and breathing exercises. Every time they do the techniques, participants fill in a form detailing how they feel before and after and providing information on the experience of doing the exercises.

Control group

The group rests without using any specific program for relaxation at least three times a week for three months.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Rest without using any relaxation technique

Intervention Type: OTHER

The participants rest at home at least 30 minutes, at least three times a week for three months and without using any relaxation technique

Yoga as stress management fewer tests

Eight persons participated in the same intervention as the experimental arm but did not undergo the full range of tests because they did not meet all the inclusion criteria for the study, most commonly because of medication use or body mass index.

Group Type: OTHER

Yoga as stress management

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Yoga specially designed to reduce stress is practiced for approximately 30 minutes at least three times a week for three months, once in a group session led by a trained yoga instructor and twice or more at home. The yoga techniques used are physical postures or movements, meditation and breathing exercises. Every time they do the techniques, participants fill in a form detailing how they feel before and after and providing information on the experience of doing the exercises.

Interventions

Yoga as stress management

Yoga specially designed to reduce stress is practiced for approximately 30 minutes at least three times a week for three months, once in a group session led by a trained yoga instructor and twice or more at home. The yoga techniques used are physical postures or movements, meditation and breathing exercises. Every time they do the techniques, participants fill in a form detailing how they feel before and after and providing information on the experience of doing the exercises.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Rest without using any relaxation technique

The participants rest at home at least 30 minutes, at least three times a week for three months and without using any relaxation technique

Intervention Type: OTHER

Other Intervention Names

Asanas(physical postures or movements); Pranayama (breathing exercises); Meditation

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• BMI 18-30
• healthy
• work in the health care sector

Exclusion Criteria

• medication, including contraceptives and all medications or topical skin preparations with cortisone in any form (exception: hormone replacement therapy for hypothyroidism were included if their hormone levels were within the normal range)

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 65 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Ekhaga Foundation Stockholm Sweden

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Region Stockholm

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Karolinska Institutet

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Karolinska Institutet, Center for Family and Community Medicine

Principal Investigators

Astrid M Grensman, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

KI, Center for Family and Community Medicine

Bikash D Acharya, M sc in Psy

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

KI, Center for Family and Community Medicine

Locations

Center for Family and Community Medicine, KI

Huddinge, Stockholm County, Sweden

Countries

Sweden

Other Identifiers

Ekhagastiftelsen 2001-5

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id