Study to assess the Effectiveness of Laughter on Academic Stress among Nursing students in selected Nursing Institutions at Mysuru

Abstract

Background of the study: Nursing profession is a disciplined profession involved in the delivery of health to the society also it is helping profession, service oriented to maintain health and well- being of people, an art and science. Although people from all walks of life experience stress on daily basis, students are more likely to experience stressful situations because of their academic requirements Therefore, it is of urgent need to identify stressors among nursing students and find appropriate methods to manage them effectively. Aim: The main aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of laughter on academic stress among nursing students in selected nursing institution at Mysuru. Objectives: The following are the objectives of the study. 1. To assess the pre-existing level of academic stress among the nursing students. 2. To evaluate the effectiveness of laughter on level of academic stress among nursing students 3. To determine the association between the level of pre-test academic stress scores with their selected demographic variables. Methodology: The research design adopted for this study was pre-experimental design (one group pre-test & post-test). The present study consisted of 60 nursing students. The data was collected with the personal proforma for selected demographic variables and Modified Perceived Academic Stress Scale to assess the level of academic stress among nursing students. The tool was validated by 5 experts and reliability of tool was established through test-retest method. The tool was administered to 30 students to check the reliability of the tool and the value was obtained. The study was feasible. The data analysis was done by both descriptive and inferential statistical methods. Results: Results revealed that 66.68% (40) of the nursing students have moderate stress and 16.66% (10) of them have severe stress and 16.66% (10) have mild stress. The level of pre-test academic stress scores of nursing students was found to be significant at 0.05 level of significance for demographic variables like habits and age and were not significant for gender and stress reduction programme. Conclusion: The findings of present study concluded that the video-assisted laughter and demonstration on academic stress was very effective in reducing academic stress among nursing students at 0.05 level of significance. Hence, the study gave the evidence that laughter can reduce academic stress of nursing students and it will help them to improve their quality of life.