The Effect of a 12-Session Yoga on Therapeutic Communication and Psychological Distress in Nursing Students
Elnaz Karamizadeh, Mahshid Nazemzadeh Shoaei, Mahlagha Dehghan, Faezeh Soltani Goki, Neda AsadiBackground
Nursing students experience significant academic and clinical stress, which contributes to psychological distress. Their ability to establish effective therapeutic communication (TC) with patients is also essential for high-quality patient care and patient satisfaction. Given the increasing use of yoga as an intervention for stress, this study investigated its effect on the therapeutic communication and psychological distress of nursing students in southeastern Iran.
Methods
This quasi-experimental study recruited 90 eligible nursing students via convenience sampling and allocated them to either the yoga or control group using simple random allocation by drawing lots. Eighty students completed the study (yoga = 39, control = 41). The intervention was an offline yoga program consisting of 12 sessions (over a one-month period). Psychological distress was assessed using the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28), and TC was measured using the Nursing Student Therapeutic Communication Questionnaire (NSTCQ). Data were collected before and after the intervention. Statistical analyses included paired t-tests (within-group), independent t-tests or Mann-Whitney U tests (between-group), and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) controlling for baseline scores and age.
Results
The mean psychological distress score in the yoga group showed a significant reduction following the intervention (p = 0.002), and a significant difference was observed between the yoga and control groups post-intervention (p = 0.001). Similarly, the mean therapeutic communication score increased significantly in the yoga group after the intervention (p = 0.03). However, there was no statistically significant difference in therapeutic communication scores between the two groups post-intervention (p = 0.079).
Conclusion
The findings suggest that yoga reduces psychological distress and may enhance therapeutic communication skills among nursing students. Yoga may therefore be considered a complementary strategy to support nursing students’ psychological well-being and professional communication.