Breathing therapy and emotional freedom techniques on public speaking anxiety in Turkish nursing students: A randomized controlled study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Public speaking is a common challenge that university students have to face. This study aims to determine the effects of Breathing Therapy and Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) on public speaking anxiety in Turkish nursing students. METHODS: This randomized controlled study included 76 nursing students. Data were collected using the Descriptive Characteristics Form, Subjective Units of Disturbance Scale, The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Speech Anxiety Scale. RESULTS: Before the administration of Breathing Therapy and EFT, the students' median scores from the Subjective Units of Disturbance Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Speech Anxiety Scale were similar. However, the median scores of the Subjective Units of Disturbance Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Speech Anxiety Scale scores significantly decreased in both of the experimental groups after the interventions (p <0.001). EFT (d = 3.18) was more effective than Breathing Therapy (d = 1.46) in reducing Speech anxiety. CONCLUSION: It was found that Breathing Therapy and EFT are effective methods to reduce stress, anxiety, and speaking anxiety.

Effects of organisational restructuring of hospitals on nurses.

AIM: The study aims to determine the thoughts, feelings and attitudes of nurses towards organisational change in hospitals, and the effects of organisational cynicism, job satisfaction, organisational commitment and work alienation on nurses' attitudes towards change. BACKGROUND: Changes and employees' thoughts, attitudes and behaviours can be mutually affected in the process of transformation. METHODS: The descriptive, correlative and cross-sectional study was conducted with 1,000 nurses in 52 public hospitals in Turkey. RESULTS: Of the nurses, 59% explained that their workload had increased, and 57% experienced uncertainty and confusion due to the organisational changes in the hospitals. Nurses' total scale scores were 2.86 ± 0.65 for attitude towards change, 2.98 ± 0.52 for work alienation, 2.97 ± 0.84 for organisational cynicism, 2.98 ± 0.70 for job satisfaction and 2.74 ± 0.92 for organisational commitment. Organisational cynicism had a significant effect on the attitude towards change of nurses (R2  = 0.486; F = 235.528; p < .001). CONCLUSION: The nurses had a moderate level of attitude towards change, organisational cynicism, job satisfaction, organisational commitment and work alienation. The primary influence on their attitude against change was their cynical thinking. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: The findings of the study can be used to test strategies to reduce cynicism regarding effective management of change.

Effect of music therapy on the anxiety levels and pregnancy rate of women undergoing in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer: A randomized controlled trial.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of music therapy on the anxiety levels and pregnancy rates of women who underwent in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer. METHODS: This prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted with 186 infertile women who presented to the In Vitro Fertilization Unit at the American Hospital in Turkey between April 2015 and April 2016. The infertile women who met the inclusion criteria were assigned to the music therapy group or the standard therapy group through block randomization. The study data were collected using the Personal Information Form, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Early treatment success was determined by serum beta human chorionic gonadotrophin levels seven or ten days after the luteal day zero. For the analysis, descriptive statistics, chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, independent sample t-test were used. RESULTS: After the embryo transfer, the mean state anxiety scores decreased in both groups, and the mean trait anxiety score decreased in the music therapy group; however, the difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). Clinical pregnancy rates did not differ between the music (48.3%) and standard (46.4%) therapy groups. CONCLUSION: After the two sessions of music therapy, state and trait anxiety levels decreased and pregnancy rates increased, but the difference was not significant. Therefore, larger sample sizes and more sessions are needed to evaluate whether music therapy has an effect on clinical outcomes.