The Effects of Nurses Practicing the HeartTouch Technique on Hardiness, Spiritual Well-being, and Perceived Stress

The Effects of Nurses Practicing the HeartTouch Technique on Hardiness, Spiritual Well-being, and Perceived Stress Publication No._____________ Marsha Jelonek Walker, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2004 Supervisor: Gayle Acton This quasi-experimental study was conducted to test the effects of nurses practicing the HeartTouch technique on hardiness, spiritual well-being, and perceived stress, as compared to the comparison group who did not practice the HeartTouch technique. The HeartTouch technique is a brief, internal maneuver designed to help the nurse notice and change thoughts and feelings, and can be practiced during daily activities. This study supported Martha Rogers’ nursing paradigm, the Science of Unitary Human Beings. Instruments used to measure the outcome variables included the Dispositional Resilience Scale to measure hardiness, the Spiritual Well-being Scale to measure spiritual well-being, the Perceived Stress Scale to measure stress, ix and the HeartTouch Questionnaire to assess nurses’ experience of practicing the HeartTouch technique. Participants included female RN’s, 58 in the experimental group and 40 in the comparison group, employed in the hospital setting. The nurses were primarily Caucasian and from many different nursing specialties. Due to the quasi-experimental nature of the investigation and some pretest differences, the pretest scores were treated as covariates and a series of analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was performed to compare the experimental and comparison groups on each of the adjusted posttest scores. Although there were no statistically significant results, all means were in the expected directions with the improvement in the experimental group greater than the comparison group on all variables. To assess practical significance of the findings, were computed for each outcome variable, ranging from .14 to .35, with Perceived Stress, d=.14, Hardiness, d=.21, and Spiritual Well-being=.32. The effect sizes obtained in this study suggested that nurses who practiced the HeartTouch technique would most likely notice a decrease in their perceived stress and an increase in their spiritual well-being and hardiness compared to nurses who did not practice the technique. The qualitative data in this study supported the practical significance of practicing the HeartTouch technique, with nurses reporting various mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits in their work and home life, including decreased stress and increased control and meaningful connection with others and Higher Power.x Table of Contents List of Tables…..……………………….…………………………………………..xiv List of Figures…………………………………………………………………….…xv Chapter 1: Introduction…………………………………………………………….1 Purpose…….…………..…………………………..…………………………………..5 Background…………..………………..………………………………………………6 Significance…………..……………….……………………………………………..11 Theoretical Framework…………………...………………………………………….13 Research Model...………………………...………………………………………….21 Research Questions..…………………………………………………………………25 Definition of Terms…..………………………………………………………………25 Assumptions………..………………………………………………………………...26 Limitations………..…………………...……………………………………………..26 Summary………..…………………...……………………………………………….27 Chapter 2: Review of Literature………………………………………………….28 Stress and Burnout in Nursing……………...…..……………………………………28 Psychoneuroimmunology…………………...…..……………………………….…..33 Anger and Hostility……………….………………………………………….36 Stress………………………………….……...………………………………38 Perceived Control…...…………….………………………………………….42 Meaningful Connection…………...………………………………………....45 xi Social Support………………….…………………………………….45 Feeling Loved and Cared for by Another……………………………47 Hardiness……………………………………..……………………………..49 Interventions that Intentionally Choose Thoughts and Feelings……..…………..53 HeartTouch Technique…………………………………………………………...60 Heart-Centered Awareness…………………………………………….....60 Loving-Touch…………………………………………………………….67 Connection with Higher Power…………………………………