An Intervention to Reduce Stress - Lab Report Example

Stress Intervention Lab Report Stress Intervention Introduction In as much as we are just about to look into ways we can intervene to help most of our medical staffs working in the cancer wards, it is good to know what stress is, what the major causes are, and if there are any measures that can be put to enable our staffs cope when attending to oncology patients. Stress on a light note is common to most people in our everyday lives and people have defined it differently. From studies, stress is referred to as a normal physical or psycho logic response or reaction to events that make one feel threatened, upset. The body tends to react in a way to protect someone. It acts as a defense mechanism (Kugelmann, 992). If stress levels overwhelm the protection level, as in if it reaches a point one is unable to react normally, then that is when one is said to be stressed. This means that when the demands set by a given environment exceed the individual ability to cope, one is said to be stressed and tends to portray some funny feelings to themselves or people around. Some of the major signs and symptoms are, one feels angry or gets agitated, this makes one emotional, depression sets in when one tends to overreact on small issues or withdraws away from people, others get paralyzed to an extent that they are unable to do anything for themselves. Studies done by (Yunyan and Lamberth, 2006) show that nurses working in the Intensive Care Unit the cancer area are likely to get high levels of stress, because their daily job entails stressful conditions. It is clear that nurses in all areas of the hospital, spend most of the time with patients and through this, they are taken to be their caregivers and advocates. This gives a clear answer as to why; it is the most affected group in the health care team. And most of them are likely to get stressed when caring for the patient with illnesses and the needs become complex, the idea that the nurses get continually exposed to critical lives and keep on seeing deaths. Also, the idea of interacting with relatives and significant others who in some, they are already depressed or lost hope. This tends to de motivate the nurse who in turn gets stressed. If one is exposed to such circumstances, they are likely to get stressful conditions which will impact negatively in their lives, which will spread to affect the physical and mental aspects of the health worker (Lazarus & folk man). With the mentioned problems, nurses especially those working in the cancer ward need to be able to cope with such situations both physically and psychologically. And among the interventions, we have a list of some of the best ways that are easy and simple to apply. Stress management entails trying to change a stressful situation when has the chance, changing the reaction, when stress has reached an unavoidable state, taking good care of one’s self and creating time to rest. It is key that the health team get empowered from the word go with the right knowledge and skills of stress management. An acronym with four A’s will help us remember this tips, Avoid, Alter, Adapt or Accept. Avoid unnecessary stress. Not all stress can be avoided, but by learning how to say no, distinguishing between “should” and “musts” on your to-do list, and steering clear of people or situations that stress you out, nurses can devise ways to eliminate many daily stressors. Alter the situation. If you cannot avoid a stressful situation, try to alter it. Be more assertive and deal with problems head on. Instead of bottling up your feelings and increasing your stress, respectfully let others know about your concerns. Or be more willing to compromise and try meeting others halfway on an issue. Adapt to the stressor. When you can’t change the stressor, try changing yourself. Reframe problems or focus on the positive things in your life. If a task at work has you stressed, focus on the aspects of your job you do enjoy. And always look at the big picture: is this really something worth getting upset about? Accept the things you can’t change. There will always be stressors in life that you can’t do anything about. Learn to accept the inevitable rather than rail against a situation and making it even more stressful. Look for the upside in a situation even the most stressful circumstances can be an opportunity for learning or personal growth. Learn to accept that no one, including you, is ever perfect. Using a number of the effective coping mechanisms may help reduce stress and increase the quality of care to the patients (Giga, Cooper & Faragher et al., 2003). Relaxation is one method considered more appropriate to relieve stress (Lehrer & Wool folk, 1993).  This is because it is practical, least expensive and easiest to implement. It is easier because it selects simple implementations like music therapy, that help caregivers improve the care they give to patients, music also does not interfere with technical aspects of care given to patients (Kemper & Danhauer, 2005). But this does not say all types of music, a consideration has been put on classical music which has proven to have reliable physiological effects and decrease burnout of the positively affected mood in nurses. The statement is supported by a survey that was conducted in intensive care units, and found that staff strongly favored instrumental or classical music in comparison to other forms of music (Kemper, Martin, Block, Shoaf & Woods, 2004). 2.      Intervention study Design True experimental design is considered, because of the attempt to determine the relationship between cause and effect. A pre-test and post-test group will be selected where participants will be randomly allocated into either the treatment (experimental) or control group. The pre-test will be used to assess any differences in stress levels between the groups prior to the intervention treatment, to determine if the intervention causes a change in stress levels of the treatment group. The post-test will allow a comparison to be made about the effectiveness of the intervention treatment used on the experimental group and the non-treatment used on the control group. The independent variable will be the intervention treatment and the dependent variable will be the participant’s stress level. Participants The participants will be medical staff working on a cancer ward 18 years and above. Ethical considerations Ethical issues that relate to confidentiality, consent, and participation will be addressed. Subjects will be fully informed about the procedures and risks involved in the research and must give consent to participate. The consent form will be used to assure confidentiality and will give surety that their identity will not be linked to any of their responses on the questionnaires. Intervention The chosen intervention to reduce stress in medical staff working on a cancer ward will be relaxation in the form of music therapy for the duration of two weeks. Classical music is taken to be the music of choice, where participants will be given an overnight thirty minutes classical relaxation CD to listen to and the end of their day, before sleeping because there are least distractions. The relaxation CD will include information on how to use the CD and how this type of music relieves day to day stress. The music will help relax the individual, enable them get calm night rests and reduce the result of stress at work during the day. Procedure Before taking part, the medical staff will be given an information sheet outlining the aims of the experiment, followed by a consent form which they must read and sign. Later the participants will be given three questionnaires; the ways of coping questionnaire, intensive care unit environment stressor scale and the perceived stress scale. Those in the treatment group will be given the relaxation CD to use for a period of two weeks. After the intervention period, participants, both the control and experimental group will re-issued the perceived stress scale to complete. The participants will then be debriefed. The results of the two groups will be compared, so as to give an indication as to whether the CD was effective, or not. The outcome of the intervention will be assessed by the use of three questionnaires, which will be used to compare the results between those given the relaxation treatment and those who did not, and a conclusion, will be drawn as to the effectiveness of the relaxation CD. The expected effect of the music is to reduce stress, enhance relaxation and clinical performance. References Faulkner, A. (1996). Nursing: The reflective approach to adult nursing. Cheltenham: Stanley Thornes. Flanagan, C. (2005). Research methods for AQA A Psychology. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes. Kugelmann, R. (1992). Stress: The nature and history of engineered grief. Westport, Conn: Praeger. Møller, L., & World Health Organization. (2007). Health in prisons: A WHO guide to the essentials in prison health. Copenhagen. New York: World Health Organization. National Research Council (U.S.). (2000). Addressing the nations changing needs for biomedical and behavioral scientists. Washington, DC: National Academy Press Stahl, B., & Goldstein, E. (2010). A mindfulness-based stress reduction workbook. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications. Stahl, B., & Goldstein, E. (2010). A mindfulness-based stress reduction workbook. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications Thew, M., & McKenna, J. (2009). Lifestyle Management in Health and Social Care. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. Westport, Conn: Praeger. Wheeler, C. M. (2006). 10 simple solutions to stress: How to tame tension and start enjoying your life. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications. Read More