The effectiveness of yoga to manage stress in healthcare professionals

Abstract

Topic overview: Although healthcare professionals were already experiencing uncontrolled stress levels before the pandemic, during the pandemic it worsened. This continued to emphasise the need for stress management. This dissertation aims to establish if yoga is effective for stress management when compared to no yoga. PICO question formulated: Is yoga effective in managing stress in healthcare professionals? Pico elements: Population (P) Healthcare professionals; Intervention (I) Yoga; Comparison (C) No yoga; Outcome (O) Stress management. Methods: The systematic search was initiated with a database search online for studies that compared yoga and no yoga for healthcare professionals to manage stress. Some of the exclusion criteria were; studies that were not written in English, and studies that included students that are working or practising in the healthcare sector. The process of was illustrated using the PRISMA flowchart. Five randomised controlled studies were retrieved and critically appraised with the use of the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool. Results: From the five studies that were chosen, their results were all in favour of yoga being beneficial in stress management for healthcare professionals when compared to wait-list groups who did not participate in any yoga sessions. Conclusion: The findings of this dissertation highlight the fact that yoga is effective to manage stress in healthcare professionals. Recommendations and implications: As the studies were all carried out in countries outside of Europe, more research is required to include local studies to explore whether cultural differences yield different results. More education is required locally on the importance and benefits of both stress management and the benefits of regular yoga sessions.