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Document Type (Journals)

Original Research

Abstract

First-year occupational therapy doctoral (OTD) students face significant academic stress, yet accessible, evidence-based wellness interventions remain underutilized in graduate occupational therapy education. This study examined the effects of a single pre-exam yoga session on state anxiety and exam performance among first-year OTD students at a Midwestern university. Using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Form Y-1 (STAI-Y1), anxiety was assessed before and after a 60-minute yoga session held immediately prior to a first-term midterm exam. Midterm exam scores were compared to those of a historical control cohort from the preceding academic year; final exam scores were also compared to assess baseline cohort equivalence. Pre-yoga STAI-Y1 scores (M = 47.85) substantially exceeded college student norms (36–39) and decreased significantly following the session (M = 32.31; t(59) = 5.69, p < .001, d = 1.47), surpassing the minimally important clinical difference for the STAI-Y1. Despite this meaningful reduction in anxiety, the intervention cohort scored significantly lower than the historical control cohort on both the midterm and final exams, suggesting a pre-existing performance difference between the cohorts rather than an effect of the yoga session. These findings support pre-exam yoga as a clinically meaningful anxiety reduction strategy in graduate health professions education, while highlighting the need for future research using randomized designs, paired data collection, and objective stress measures.

Biography

Bridget Hahn, OTD, OTR/L is an Assistant Professor and Director of Admissions in the Department of Occupational Therapy at Rush University. Her scholarly interests include occupation-based practice, holistic and inclusive admissions, and clinician well-being. She integrates wellness and clinician sustainability into the curriculum by teaching yoga-based classes for OT students and maintains an active service role through leadership in the Illinois Occupational Therapy Association and the AOTA Admissions Community of Practice.

Lamis Alnatafgi, Amanda Barbour, Samantha Benak, Leah Downey, and Emily Servin collaborated on this study as entry-level occupational therapy doctoral students completing a research project as part of their doctoral education.

Declaration of Interest

The authors report no declarations of interest.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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