Graduation Year

2016

Degree Type

Open Access Capstone

Document Type

Capstone

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Department

Nursing

Department Name when Degree Awarded

Baccalaureate and Graduate Nursing

First Advisor

Mary DeLetter

Department Affiliation

Nursing

Second Advisor

Evelyn M. Parrish

Department Affiliation

Nursing

Third Advisor

Gina L. Purdue

Department Affiliation

Nursing

Abstract

Occupation-related stress has been a long-standing concern of the health care industry. Studies indicate that health care workers have higher rates of substance abuse and suicide than other professionals and elevated rates of depression and anxiety linked to job stress. In addition to psychological distress, other outcomes of job stress include burnout, absenteeism, employee intent to leave, reduced patient satisfaction, and diagnosis and treatment errors. Mindfulness interventions, such as practicing yoga on a regular basis, have been found to be effective in reducing work-related stress by multiple researchers. The overall level of stress, anxiety and depression decreased after implementation of intervention such as yoga or mindfulness exercise. The purpose of this project was to implement a weekly yoga-based stress reduction program for health care employees of a military outpatient primary care clinic. A sample of 29 staff members from an outpatient military clinic participated in eight onsite yoga classes two times per week for four weeks. Self-reported perception of stress was measured before and after the yoga intervention using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Mean PSS scores improved significantly t (28) = 4.72, p<.0001. The yoga class was effective in reducing employee perceived stress over the four weeks and continues to be offered onsite for clinic employees one time per week. Keywords: stress, burnout, exhaustion, health-care, and yoga

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