Date of Conferral

2018

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Diane Whitehead

Abstract

Abstract

Employees experience workplace stress that can affect their health resulting in chronic diseases such as diabetes, stress, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases. Stress also contributes to staff presentism, absenteeism, and high turnover rate. The employee wellness program (EWP) yoga class at a metropolitan teaching hospital has not been evaluated for its effectiveness in employee stress reduction and improvement in employee health. The practice focus question for this project explored employees' perception of the impact of a metropolitan teaching hospital's EWP yoga class on their stress reduction and health promotion activities. The theoretical framework for this project is Lazarus' transactional model of stress and coping. This model suggests that individuals assess the stressor and find strategies for coping with the stress as it relates to them and their environment. The evidence that guided this project included a comprehensive literature review and the analysis of data retrieved from semi structured interviews with 20 participants in the yoga class who responded to an open invitation. Audiotaped interviews with the participants were analyzed and coded for common themes and revealed that participating in the EWP yoga program helped to reduce their perceived stress and improve their mental and physical well-being. The findings of this project were used to inform organizational leadership and may provide opportunities to evaluate the current yoga program regarding employee stress reduction, improving healthy activities, expansion of the program to other work sites within the organization, maintaining a healthy workforce, and reducing health care costs.

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