IndianHeritage: JAN Study finds Mantra Therapy helpful.

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ISSUES AND INNOVATIONS IN NURSING PRACTICE

Mantram repetition for stress management in veterans and employees: a

critical incident study

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2006.03752.x?prevSe\

arch=allfield%3A%28mantra+therapy%29

Jill E. Bormann PhD RN,

Doug Oman PhD,

Jeanne K. Kemppainen PhD RN,

Sheryl Becker MS RN,

Madeline Gershwin MA RN and

Ann Kelly MS RN bormann j.e., oman d., kemppainen j.k., becker s., gershwin

m. & kelly a. (2006) Journal of Advanced Nursing53(5), 502–512

Mantram repetition for stress management in veterans and employees: a critical

incident study

Aim. This paper reports a study assessing the usefulness of a mantram

repetition programme.

Background. Complementary/alternative therapies are becoming commonplace, but

more research is needed to assess their benefits. A 5-week programme teaching a

'mind–body–spiritual' technique of silently repeating a mantram – a word or

phrase with spiritual meaning – to manage stress was developed. A mantram was

chosen by individuals, who were taught to repeat it silently throughout the day

or night to interrupt unwanted thoughts and elicit the relaxation response.

Methods. Participants who attended a 5-week course were invited to participate

in the study. Of those who consented, a randomly selected subset (n = 66) was

contacted approximately 3 months after the course for a telephone interview

using the critical incident interviewing technique. Participants were asked

whether the intervention was helpful or not, and if helpful, to identify

situations where it was applied. Interviews were transcribed and incidents were

identified and categorized to create a taxonomy of uses. The data were collected

in 2001–2002.

Results. Participants included 30 veterans, mostly males (97%), and 36

hospital employees, mostly females (86%). Mean age was 56 years (sd = 12·94).

Fifty-five participants (83·3%) practiced the technique and reported 147

incidents where the programme was helpful. Outcomes were organized into a

taxonomy of incidents using four major categories that included managing: (a)

emotions other than stress (51%); (b) stress (23·8%); © insomnia (12·9%); and

(d) unwanted thoughts (12·3%). A group of raters reviewed the categories for

inter-rater reliability.

Conclusions. The majority of participants from two distinct samples reported

that the mantram programme was helpful in a variety of situations. The critical

incident interviewing method was found to be practical, efficient, and thorough

in collecting and analyzing data. Such qualitative methods contribute to

understanding the benefits of mind–body complementary therapies.